Crassula.
Family Crassulaceae > Subfamily Crassuloideae.
There are around 200 species of Jade plants with most from southern Africa and Madagascar.
The annual or perennial plants can be herbs, subshrubs or shrubs.
The roots may be tuber-like or woody.
Fleshy simple or branched stems can be prostrate then ascending, spreading or erect.
The succulent leaves are opposite and in 4 ranks (decussate).
They typically have no petiole and the bases of young leaves may meet around the stem.
Lower leaves may form a rosette.
Up to 7 cm long the leaves can be ovate, obovate or lance-shaped.
They can be flat to rounded in cross section.
The surface can be smooth or rough, have short hairs or papillae and the veins are faint.
Leaves may be persistent or deciduous.
Inflorescences are variously branched terminal or axillary clusters.
Rarely there is only 1 (2) axillary flower.
Some inflorescences are on a definite peduncle while others have almost none.
There are 2 bracts that may be scale or leaf-like.
Flowers are on a pedicel up to 4 mm long and on each branch the terminal flower opens first (cyme).
Flowers are (3 or 4) 5 (6 to 9) numerous.
The sepals are free or the bases are fused for a short distance.
They lie close the the petals which are usually longer.
The petals usually have their bases fused forming a short tube.
The erect or spreading lobes often have a small usually blunt mucro at the tip.
Many flowers are white or reddish with a few yellow, orange or bluish.
Sepals and/or the petals may have small papillae best seen on the edges.
Stamens, equal in number to the petals are in 1 whorl.
The filaments may be free or have their bases fused to the corolla.
The ovate to oblong anthers may have an appendage.
The variously shaped reddish-brown nectaries (scales) are usually very small.
The ovary has 3 to 5 carpels that are free or shortly joined at the base.
Each almost always has up to 20 ovules.
Oblong or obovoid the carpels often taper at the top to a short or no style.
The fruit are elliptic to spatula-shaped follicles that may be smooth or have small tubercles.
The usually many seeds may be smooth ridged.
J.F.
