Crassula coccinea
| Crassula coccinea | |
|---|---|
_(52681044360).jpg) | |
| Table Mountain National Park | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Crassulaceae |
| Genus: | Crassula |
| Species: | C. coccinea |
| Binomial name | |
| Crassula coccinea | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Crassula coccinea, the red crassula, is a plant in the stonecrop family from South Africa.
Description
Red crassulas are small shrub-like succulent plants growing 30 to 60 cm tall. The few stems can grow upwards or sprawl outwards and branch from the base of the plant. Older plants have dry, brown stem bases while being covered in green new growth towards the tops.[3] They can be as much as 1.3 cm thick and become woody with age.[4]
The leaves are arranged in four rows along the length of the stems.[5] They are sessile, the base of the leaves attach directly to the main stem rather than by a leaf stem, and are attached in pairs on opposite sides in an overlapping pattern.[4] The succulent leaves are oval in shape,[3] hairless except for small ones along the edges.[6]
The particularly vivid red flowers crowd together in flat topped inflorescences at the ends of the stems.[5] The flowers can be attached by short pedicels up to 1 cm long but can be shorter or even sessile like the leaves with the whole group as much as 8 cm across and with up to about 25 flowers. Each flower is 2–2.4 cm in diameter with five lobes and fused into a tube 3–3.5 cm long.[4] The blooming season is in December through March in its native habitat.[7]
It is very similar in appearance to Crassula fascicularis, but has red blooms and ovate-elliptic leaves where C. fascicularis has yellowish flowers and linear-lanceolate leaves.[8]
Taxonomy
Crassula coccinea was given its scientific name in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus. It is classified in the Crassula genus as part of the Crassulaceae family and has no accepted varieties, but has two among its 15 synonyms.[2]
| Name | Year | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crassula coccinea var. alba (Haw.) J.M.H.Shaw | 2024 | variety | = het. |
| Crassula coccinea var. versicolor (Burch.) J.M.H.Shaw | 2024 | variety | = het. |
| Crassula versicolor Burch. | 1818 | species | = het. |
| Danielia coccinea (L.) Lem. | 1869 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Danielia versicolor (Burch.) Lem. | 1869 | species | = het. |
| Dietrichia coccinea (L.) Tratt. | 1812 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Dietrichia versicolor (Burch.) Eckl. & Zeyh. | 1837 | species | = het. |
| Kalosanthes coccinea (L.) Haw. | 1821 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Kalosanthes coccinea var. alba Haw. | 1821 | variety | = het. |
| Kalosanthes splendens F.W.Sm. | 1836 | species | = het., without diagnostic descr. |
| Kalosanthes versicolor (Burch.) Haw. | 1821 | species | = het. |
| Larochea coccinea (L.) Pers. | 1805 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Rochea coccinea (L.) DC. | 1799 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Rochea versicolor (Burch.) Link | 1821 | species | = het. |
| Sedum rochea Kuntze | 1898 | species | ≡ hom. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym | |||
Names
The Botanical Latin species name, coccinea, means bright red and is derived from the Latin word coccum.[5] Crassula coccinea is frequently known by the common name red crassula.[9] It is also often called klipblom,[5] but shares this name with species such as Crassula fascicularis.[10] Likewise the uncommon name suikerblom is found in some sources,[5] but the similar name rooi suikerblom is used for the distantly related Tylecodon grandiflorus.[11] In gardening texts it is occasionally called rock flower,[6] but this can also be applied to Colpias mollis which is also known as klipblom.[12]
Range and habitat
The natural range of the red crassula is in the Western Cape province of South Africa from the Cape Peninsula to Still Bay.[9] It has also become naturalized in two areas of New Zealand, Rangitoto Island in the Auckland area and Camp Bay on the Banks Peninsula.[4]
Ecology
Red crassula is pollinated by the Table Mountain beauty butterfly (Aeropetes tulbaghia), which, usually for a butterfly, is attracted to red to orange colored flowers.[13]
Cultivation
Red crassula has been cultivated for more than three centuries.[14] It is valued by gardeners both for the vivid color of its blooms and for ease of cultivation. Plants do require a sandy soil that is acidic and to be well watered during the local winter season.[6]
The botanist and horticulturalist William Curtis wrote of the species in a publication issued in 1800 saying, "We have no doubt but that when this superb species of Crassula was first introduced from the Cape by Prof. Bradley, of Oxford in 1714, it was regarded as a kind of Merveil de la Nature; even now that it is common, we scarcely know any succulent that is superior to it, whether we regard its grandeur, the curious growth of its leaves, or the rich colour of its scarlet blossoms, readily produced on plants of a moderate size."[14]
References
Citations
- ↑ SANBI 2009.
- 1 2 POWO 2026.
- 1 2 van Jaarsveld, van der Walt & Notten 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Webb, Sykes & Garnock-Jones 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Jackson 1977, p. 36.
- 1 2 3 Smith & Van Wyk 2008, p. 134.
- ↑ Bruyns 2012, p. 473.
- ↑ Bruyns 2012, pp. 473–474.
- 1 2 Goldblatt & Manning 2000, p. 415.
- ↑ Clarke & Mackenzie 2007, p. 71.
- ↑ Manning & Goldblatt 1996, p. 110.
- ↑ Manning 2009, p. 462.
- ↑ Patterson-Jones 2003, p. 139.
- 1 2 Curtis 1800.
Sources
Books
- Bruyns, P.V. (2012). "Crassulaceae". In Manning, John C.; Goldblatt, Peter (eds.). Plants of the Greater Cape Floristic Region. Pretoria, South Africa: SANBI, Biodiversity for Life. ISBN 978-1-919976-74-7. OCLC 866860203. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- Clarke, Hugh; Mackenzie, Bruce (2007). Common wild flowers of Table Mountain. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-77007-383-8. OCLC 192012437. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- Goldblatt, Peter; Manning, John (2000). Cape Plants: A Conspectus of the Cape Flora of South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa; St. Louis, Missouri: National Botanical Institute; Missouri Botanical Garden. ISBN 978-0-620-26236-1. OCLC 45418684. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- Jackson, William P. (1977). Wild Flowers of Table Mountain (1st ed.). Cape Town, South Africa: Howard Timmins. ISBN 978-0-86978-146-3. OCLC 10495648. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- Manning, John; Goldblatt, Peter (1996). West Coast (First ed.). Cape Town, South Africa: Botanical Society of South Africa. ISBN 978-1-874999-11-9. OCLC 36404310. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- Manning, John (2009). Field Guide to Wild Flowers of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland: over 1100 Photographs for Easy Identification. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Nature. ISBN 978-1-77007-758-4. OCLC 423599056. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
- Patterson-Jones, Colin (2003). The Cape Floral Kingdom. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN 978-1-86872-892-3. OCLC 62347193. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- Smith, Gideon; Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2008). The Garden Succulents Primer. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. ISBN 978-0-88192-954-6. OCLC 226356849. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
Journal articles
- Curtis, William (1800). "Crassula Coccinea. Scarlet-Flowered Crassula". The Botanical Magazine. 14: 495. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
Web sources
- POWO (2026). "Crassula coccinea L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- SANBI (8 July 2009). "Red Crassula". Threatened Species Programme | SANBI Red List of South African Plants. Pretoria, South Africa: South African National Biodiversity Institute. Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- van Jaarsveld, Ernst; van der Walt, Liesl; Notten, Alice (December 2016). "Crassula coccinea". PlantZAfrica. Pretoria, South Africa: South African National Biodiversity Institute. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. (2026) [In print 1988]. "Crassula coccinea". Flora of New Zealand Series. Lincoln, New Zealand: Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. Archived from the original on 8 February 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
External links
