The Crassulaceae, also known as the stonecrop family or the orpine family, are a diverse family of dicotyledon flowering plants characterized by succulent leaves and a unique form of photosynthesis, known as Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). Flowers generally have five floral parts. Crassulaceae are usually herbaceous but there are some subshrubs, and relatively few treelike or aquatic plants. Crassulaceae are a medium-sized monophyletic family in the core eudicots, among the order Saxifragales, whose diversity has made infrafamilial classification very difficult. The family includes approximately 1,400 species and 34–35 genera, depending on the circumscription of the genus Sedum, and distributed over three subfamilies. Members of the Crassulaceae are found worldwide, but mostly in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Africa, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce, although a few are aquatic.
Kalanchoe, also written Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë, is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. A Kalanchoe species was one of the first plants to be sent into space, sent on a resupply to the Soviet Salyut 1 space station in 1979. The majority of kalanchoes require around 6–8 hours of sunlight a day; a few cannot tolerate this, and survive with bright, indirect sunlight to bright shade.
Sempervivum is a genus of about 40 species of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, commonly known as houseleeks. Other common names include liveforever and hen and chicks, a name shared with plants of other genera as well. They are succulent perennials forming mats composed of tufted leaves in rosettes. In favourable conditions they spread rapidly via offsets, and several species are valued in cultivation as groundcover for dry, sunny locations.
Aeonium, the tree houseleeks, is a genus of about 35 species of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae. Many species are popular in horticulture. The genus name comes from the ancient Greek αἰώνιος / aiōnios (ageless). While most of them are native to the Canary Islands, some are found in Madeira, Cape Verde, Morocco, in East Africa and Yemen.
Monanthes is a genus of small, succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae. The about ten species are mostly endemic to the Canary Islands and Savage Islands, with some found on Madeira. Its center of diversity is Tenerife, with seven species occurring on this island. On Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, only M. laxiflora occurs. Monanthes is a rare example where a species re-colonizes the continent from an island, after their ancestors have colonized the island from the continent.
Jovibarba is a small genus of three species of succulent flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, endemic to mountainous regions in the southeastern quadrant of Europe. The genus is sometimes classified as a subgenus of Sempervivum, to which it is closely related. Jovibarba have pale-greenish-yellow or yellow actinomorphic flowers with about six petals, while Sempervivum have generally pinkish flowers with around twice as many petals, which open more widely than jovibarba flowers. The common name hen and chicks is applied to some Jovibarba species.
Sedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf succulents found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, but extending into the southern hemisphere in Africa and South America. The plants vary from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have water-storing leaves. The flowers usually have five petals, seldom four or six. There are typically twice as many stamens as petals. Various species formerly classified as Sedum are now in the segregate genera Hylotelephium and Rhodiola.
Echeveria is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, native to semi-desert areas of Central America, Mexico and northwestern South America.
Sempervivum arachnoideum, the cobweb house-leek, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to European mountains, in the Alps, Apennines and Carpathians. Growing to 8 cm (3 in) tall by 30 cm (12 in) wide, it is a rosette-forming succulent perennial, valued in cultivation for its ability to colonise hot, dry areas via offsets.
Aeonium arboreum, the tree aeonium, tree houseleek, or Irish rose, is a succulent, subtropical subshrub in the flowering plant family Crassulaceae.
Hylotelephium telephium, known as orpine, livelong, frog's-stomach, harping Johnny, life-everlasting, live-forever, midsummer-men, Orphan John and witch's moneybags, is a succulent perennial groundcover of the family Crassulaceae native to Eurasia. The flowers are held in dense heads and can be reddish or yellowish-white. A number of cultivars, often with purplish leaves, are grown in gardens as well as hybrids between this species and the related Hylotelephium spectabile (iceplant), especially the popular 'Herbstfreude'. Occasionally garden plants may escape and naturalise as has happened in parts of North America.
Rosularia is a small genus of the family Crassulaceae. It includes about 28-35 species from Europe, the Himalayas, and northern Africa.
Aeonium haworthii, also known as Haworth's aeonium or pinwheel, is a species of succulent flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is grown as a houseplant in temperate regions. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, as has the cultivar 'Variegatum'.
Aeonium undulatum is a succulent, evergreen flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is a subshrub, one of the larger species of Aeonium with an 8–12 inches (200–300 mm) rosette of bright, glossy green leaves often over a metre from the ground on a single, unbranched stem. Other rosettes do not branch off this stem (normally) but grow from the bottom, unlike most aeoniums. The plant is monocarpic so the flowering stem will die when after producing its yellow inflorescence, which is normally after about 5 years.
Aeonium tabuliforme, the flat-topped aeonium or saucer plant, is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae, native and endemic to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It is low-growing, typically reaching about 5 cm high but up to 45 cm in diameter. It grows on moist, north-facing cliffs and ledges at low altitude. A mass of fleshy, hairy, bright green leaves in flat rosettes is produced on short unbranched stems, often on vertical surfaces. This species is short-lived and dies after flowering. Plants often take 3–4 years to flower, at which point they produce a tall (40–60 cm) raceme of yellow flowers.
Sempervivium calcareum, the houseleek, is a species of flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, native to the southern Alps in Europe. An evergreen succulent perennial, it has a rosette with thick leaves that store water. The leaves are usually green with reddish-purple tips. This plant reproduces with asexual budding and monocarpic sexual reproduction.
Sempervivum ciliosum, the Teneriffe houseleek is a species of flowering plant in the succulent stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, native to the Balkans and Southeastern Europe. Despite a superficial resemblance, houseleeks are not closely related to the American cacti family. A colony-forming evergreen perennial plant, each individual rosette can grow to around 7.5 cm (3.0 in) high and wide, forming dense mats of up to 50 cm (20 in) wide.
Sempervivoideae is the largest of three subfamilies in the Saxifragales family Crassulaceae, with about 20–30 genera with succulent leaves. Unlike the two smaller subfamilies, it is distributed in temperate climates. The largest genus in this subfamily is Sedum, with about 470 species.
Aichryson × aizoides, youth-and-old-age, is a hybrid species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to the Canary Islands. Its parents are Aichryson tortuosum × Aichryson punctatum. A succulent, its 'Variegatum' cultivar has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit as a houseplant.
