Family:
Crassulaceae J.St.-Hil.
Genus:
Crassula L.

Crassula ovata (Mill.) Druce

This species is accepted, and its native range is SE. Mozambique to SE. Cape Prov. It is used as a medicine, has environmental uses and social uses and for food.

[FZ]

Crassulaceae, R. Fernandes. Flora Zambesiaca 7:1. 1983

Morphology General Habit
A large, much branched, completely glabrous, very floriferous shrub, 0·6-3 m. or more high.
Morphology Stem
Stem up to 20 cm. in diam. at the base, subterete, succulent, greyish; branches denuded, ± marked with the scars of the fallen leaves.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves 2-5 x 1-3 cm., obovate or broadly elliptical to obovate-spathulate, shortly acuminate and acute or subrounded at the top, entire and reddish at the sharply edged margin, attenuate towards a subpetiolar base, subconnate when young, free with age, fleshy, flattened, slightly concave above and slightly convex beneath, with nectary dots in one row on both sides near the margin (but dots also scattered on both surfaces), green and shining when fresh, dark brown and ± covered with a micaceous caducous peeling layer when dry, ± condensed at the extremities of the branchlets, longer than the internodes.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers 5-merous, arranged in terminal, ± dense to loose corymbose, pedunculate inflorescences; peduncles 1-4 cm. long; pedicels 4·5-8 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx ± 5 mm. in diam., campanulate to nearly saucer-shaped; sepals 1·15 mm. high and ± 1·5 mm. broad at the base, broadly triangular, acute, connate for ± 1 mm., separated by a rounded sinus, fleshy, their external surface similar to that of the leaves.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white or faintly rose; petals (5)6·25-7·5(10) mm. long, oblong or lanceolate, keeled, acute, mucronate at the apex, slightly connate at the base, spreading.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamen-filaments 4-5·5 mm. long; anthers fertile c. 0·5 mm. broad, transverse-oblong, or.sterile c. 0·75 mm. long and oblong or lanceolate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Follicles 3-3·25 mm. long, obliquely oblong-ovoid; styles 2-3 mm. long, filiform.
Morphology General Scales
Scales broader than long.

[UPFC]
Distribution
Colombian departments: Bogotá DC.
Ecology
Habitat according IUCN Habitats Classification: artificial - terrestrial.

[UPFC]
Use Environmental
Environmental uses.
Use Food
Used for food.
Use Medicines
Medical uses.
Use Social
Social uses.

Native to:

Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, Mozambique

Introduced into:

California, Canary Is., Madeira, Spain, St.Helena

Crassula ovata (Mill.) Druce appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Jun 1, 1976 South Africa K000310710 Yes
South Africa Crassula portulacea 33326.000 No

First published in Rep. Bot. Soc. Exch. Club Brit. Isles 1916: 617 (1917)

Accepted by

  • Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  • Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2013). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 5: 1-451. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  • Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.
  • Lambdon, P. (2012). Flowering plants & ferns of St Helena: 1-624. Pisces publications for St Helena nature conservation group.
  • Launert, E. (ed.) (1983). Flora Zambesiaca 7(1): 1-394. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • (2019). https://doi.org/10.2436/20.1502.01.18 epublication.
  • Dobignard, A. & Chatelain, C. (2013). Index synonymique de la flore d'Afrique du nord 5: 1-451. Éditions des conservatoire et jardin botaniques, Genève.
  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2009). Flora of North America North of Mexico 8: 1-585. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  • Lambdon, P. (2012). Flowering plants & ferns of St Helena: 1-624. Pisces publications for St Helena nature conservation group.

Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

  • Diazgranados et al. (2021). Catalogue of plants of Colombia. Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia project. In prep.
  • Diazgranados, M., Allkin, B., Black N., Cámara-Leret, R., Canteiro C., Carretero J., Eastwood R., Hargreaves S., Hudson A., Milliken W., Nesbitt, M., Ondo, I., Patmore, K., Pironon, S., Turner, R., Ulian, T. (2020). World Checklist of Useful Plant Species. Produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity.
  • FPI (2021). Food Plants International. https://fms.cmsvr.com/fmi/webd/Food_Plants_World?homeurl=https://foodplantsinternational.com/plants/
  • GBIF.org (2021). GBIF species matching tool. https://www.gbif.org/tools/species-lookup
  • GRIN (2021). Germplasm Resources Information Network from the United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.ars-grin.gov/
  • Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS) v.10 (2021); http://mpns.kew.org/
  • RBG, Kew (ed.) (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London.
  • Willis, K.J. (ed.) (2017). State of the World’s Plants 2017. Report. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
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  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

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  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    Copyright applied to individual images

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0