Featured: Lysimachia arvensis Image from Stuppy & Kesseler
©Papadakis Publisher

  1. Family: Crassulaceae J.St.-Hil.

    1. Crassula L.

        2. This genus is accepted, and its native range is Cosmopolitan.

    [FTEA]

    Crassulaceae, G.E. Wickens. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1987

    Habit
    Annual or perennial herbs, rarely shrubs, frequently fleshy
    Leaves
    Leaves very rarely absent, decussate, free or ± connate at the base to form a sheath around the stem, usually sessile, almost always entire, flattish, semiterete or subterete, glabrous, pubescent papillose or scabrid, margin smooth, ciliate or papillate
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence usually corymbose, subumbellate, capitate or thyrsoid, sometimes an axillary fascicle or flowers rarely solitary
    Flowers
    Flowers isomerous, 3–4- or 5-merous, rarely 6- or 9-merous
    Calyx
    Calyx usually much shorter than the corolla Sepals free or slightly united at the base
    Corolla
    Petals usually slightly united at the base, white or red, rarely yellow or bluish; lobes stellate, erect, patent or connivent, apex often dorsally mucronate, the mucro small, hemispherical or cylindrical, usually blunt or conspicuous, ovoid or subglobular
    Stamens
    Stamens equal in number to the petals, episepalous, or in gamopetalous corollas affixed to the tube; filaments often subulate, sometimes flattened; anthers ovate or oblong, sometimes with conspicuous connective
    Nectaries
    Nectary scales usually very small, narrowly to broadly spathulate to obcuneate or square, rounded and slightly emarginate at the apex, rarely stipitate
    Carpels
    Carpels free or slightly united at the base; ovules numerous, rarely 1–2; styles often subulate, narrowly cylindrical or filamentous, often as long as the ovaries, or short and relatively thick; stigmata small, terminal or more rarely subdorsal.
    [FZ]

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

    Habit
    Annual or perennial succulent herbs, sometimes with a tuber-like root, or undershrubs or shrubs with ± woody root-stock and succulent usually ± fleshy leaves.
    Leaves
    Leaves opposite, usually decussate, the lowermost frequently rosulate, free or ± connate in a sheath, usually simple, undivided and entire, thin to ± thick, flat, terete, semiterete, ovoid, etc.
    Flowers
    Flowers (3-4)5(6-9)-merous, isomerous, usually small and not showy, in cymes arranged either in dense subsessile or pedunculate axillary clusters sometimes forming thyrsoid inflorescences, or in corymb-like axillary or terminal loose or ± dense inflorescences, sometimes 1(2) flowers in the leaf-axils.
    Calyx
    Calyx usually shorter than the corolla, with the sepals free or slightly connate at the base, appressed to the corolla, ± succulent.
    Corolla
    Corolla usually white or whitish turning orange or brownish-red when dry, sometimes red or carmine, rarely bright yellow, persistent; petals erect or stellate, connate at the base into a ± short tube.
    Stamens
    Stamens free or with the lower part of the filaments connate with the corolla-tube, alternipetalous; anthers ovate or oblong, sometimes nearly circular.
    Carpels
    Carpels free or connate at the base, oblong or obovoid, attenuate towards or contracted into a ± short usually terminal style, sometimes the styles nearly absent and stigmas subdorsal, completely glabrous or papillose along the suture; ovules numerous or sometimes 1-4.
    Nectaries
    Scales shorter than the carpels, hyaline or reddish-brown or rose, thin, narrowly to broadly spathulate or obovate or cuneate.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Alabama, Alaska, Algeria, Amur, Angola, Antipodean Is., Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Argentina South, Arizona, Arkansas, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil South, Brazil South, British Columbia, Bulgaria, Burundi, Buryatiya, California, Cameroon, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, Central African Repu, Central European Rus, Chad, Chatham Is., Chile Central, Chile North, Chile South, China South-Central, Colombia, Colorado, Connecticut, Corse, Costa Rica, Crozet Is., Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, East Aegean Is., East Himalaya, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Is., Finland, France, Free State, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Gulf of Guinea Is., Gulf States, Iceland, Idaho, India, Inner Mongolia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kansas, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kenya, Kerguelen, Khabarovsk, Korea, Kriti, Kuwait, KwaZulu-Natal, Lebanon-Syria, Lesotho, Libya, Louisiana, Macquarie Is., Madagascar, Madeira, Maine, Malawi, Manchuria, Marion-Prince Edward, Maryland, Masachusettes, Mexican Pacific Is., Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Minnesota, Mississippi, Mongolia, Montana, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New South Wales, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Newfoundland, Nigeria, Norfolk Is., North European Russi, Northern Provinces, Northern Territory, Northwest European R, Northwest Territorie, Norway, Nova Scotia, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pakistan, Palestine, Paraguay, Pennsylvania, Peru, Portugal, Primorye, Prince Edward I., Queensland, Québec, Rwanda, Sakhalin, Sardegna, Saskatchewan, Saudi Arabia, Selvagens, Sicilia, Sicilia, Socotra, Somalia, South Australia, South Carolina, South European Russi, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Tadzhikistan, Tanzania, Tanzania, Tasmania, Texas, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Utah, Venezuela, Vermont, Victoria, Washington, West Himalaya, Western Australia, Western Sahara, Wyoming, Xinjiang, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Yukon, Zambia, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

    Extinct in:

    Baltic States, Delaware, Poland

    Introduced into:

    China North-Central, Hawaii, Ireland, Juan Fernández Is., St.Helena, Tristan da Cunha

    Crassula L. appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Apr 1, 1870 McKen [2], South Africa K000310200
    Madagascar 12161.000
    28635.000
    29456.000
    Wild, H. [45844], Mozambique 8512.000
    Polhill, R. [1288], Tanzania 3777.000
    Fearn, B., South Africa 30690.000
    Collenette, I.S. [7480], Saudi Arabia 55141.000
    Collenette, I.S. [7954], Saudi Arabia 56666.000
    Hargrave-Wilson, Kenya 24522.000
    Philcox [8901], Zimbabwe 49891.000
    Philcox [8881], Zimbabwe 49892.000
    Philcox [8962], Zimbabwe 49893.000
    McWhirter, J. [185], Madagascar 32203.000
    Owen, D. [064], Malawi 54442.000
    Guichard, K. 8513.000
    10522.000
    Baur, R. [595], South Africa K000310199
    Baur, R. [595], South Africa K000310198

    First published in Sp. Pl.: 283 (1753)

    Accepted by

    • Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.

    Literature

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • —F.T.A. 2: 388, incl. Tillaea Linn.
    Flora Zambesiaca
    • Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 136 (1754).
    • Sp. Pl. 1:282 (1753)
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • emend. Schönl. in Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Afr. 17: 160 (1929)
    • L., Gen. Pl., ed. 5: 136 (1754)
    • Sp. Pl.: 282 (1753)

    Sources

    Art and Illustrations in Digifolia
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew

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

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. 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 2020. 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