Crassula pellucida

Crassula pellucida
Crassula pellucida subsp. pellucida, growing on the eastern flank of Table Mountain
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Crassulaceae
Genus:	Crassula
Species:	C. pellucida
Binomial name
Crassula pellucida L. (1753)
Synonyms [1]
Gomara pellucida(L.) P.V.Heath (1993)

Crassula pellucida is a creeping, succulent ground-cover, or low-growing, spreading succulent shrub. It is native to eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Kenya and Angola to South Africa. ^[1]

It is highly variable, tolerates shade, and several forms are popular in cultivation.

Description

Flower detail: C. pellucida subsp. pellucida

The small ovate-rounded leaves have barely visible stalks, or are sessile (leaf-base fixed around the stem, without any stalk). This feature helps to distinguish this species from the similar and closely related Crassula spathulata .

The leaves have faintly toothed margins. Small, pink-white, star-shaped flowers appear in Autumn or late Summer.

Subspecies and distribution

Subspecies brachypetala (left); and marginalis (right)

A petite form of C.pellucida subps. marginalis, here cultivated as a ground-cover

Four subspecies are accepted: ^[1]

• • subsp. pellucida. This nominate subspecies has soft, green, rounded leaves. It occurs in shaded, rocky forested areas of the southern Cape, from Cape Town to East London.
  • subsp. brachypetala(E.Mey. ex Harv.) Toelken. This variable subspecies has hairs at the leaf-bases, and can sometimes have more pointed lanceolate leaves. It occurs widely across the eastern (summer-rainfall) half of South Africa and in southern tropical and eastern tropical Africa. ^[2]
  • subsp. marginalis(Aiton) Toelken. This unique subspecies has fused, disc-like leaf-pairs, densely packed along its pendent stems (looking similar to C.rupestris or C.perforata ). It occurs in the far south-eastern Cape, from George to East London. ^[3]
  • subsp. spongiosaToelken. Cape Provinces. ^[4]

References

1. Crassula pellucida L. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
2. Crassula pellucida subsp. brachypetala (E.Mey. ex Harv.) Toelken. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 23 September 2023.
3. Doreen Court (2000). Succulent Flora of Southern Africa. CRC Press. p. 100. ISBN   978-90-5809-323-3.
4. Crassula pellucida subsp. spongiosa Toelken. Plants of the World Online . Retrieved 23 September 2023.