Crassula dejecta

Crassula dejecta
Fynbos, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Crassulaceae
Genus:	Crassula
Species:	C. dejecta
Binomial name
Crassula dejecta Jacq.
Synonyms
Rochea undulata (Haw.) Steud. Rochea dejecta (Jacq.) Steud. Rochea albiflora (Sims) DC. Curtogyne undulata (Haw.) Haw. Curtogyne undosa Haw. Curtogyne undata (Haw.) Haw. Curtogyne dejecta (Jacq.) DC. Curtogyne albiflora (Sims) Eckl. & Zeyh. Crassula undulata Haw. Crassula microsquamata Schönl. Crassula albiflora var. minor Schönland Crassula albiflora Sims

Crassula dejecta, commonly known as doily crassula, is a species of succulent plant that is native to South Africa. Described by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, it is part of the genus Crassula.

Description

Flowers

It is a perennial plant that is densely branched and bushy, about 400 mm high. The leaves are somewhat fleshy, frequently speckled with red hues. A line of rounded pearl-like hairs on the margins give leaves a silvery edge. There are also small hairs that point downwards on the immature stems that feature a silvery tinge. The leaves are opposite, and are thickly ordered in regular rows on the stems.

Inflorescences

The flowers are white that tend to be hinted with pink or red sepals, with red ovaries coloring the center of the flowers, and red anthers that turn golden. The flowers are sorted in cloaked clusters, jammed at the branches' ends, with nectar that exudes a distinguishing scent. The flowers become small capsules (fruit), each comprising many very small seeds.

Habitat

C. dejecta grows on south or south-west facing slopes or in gorges, rock outcrops, ledges or rock crannies in the Riviersonderend Mountains adjacent to Stellenbosch in South Africa's Western Cape, which is northwards from the Cederberg mountains. The species is also present in Fynbos and the Succulent Karoo region.