Crassula nemorosa Photo by: © Plantemania
Origin and Habitat: Crassula nemorosaSN|34745]]SN|34745]] is sporadically recorded from the mountains in the western Cape Province from the Richtersveld to the Little Karoo, but often locally common from east of Steytlerville to Queenstown and East London
Habitat and ecology: Crassula nemorosaSN|34745]]SN|34745]] is often found growing in colonies in damp shallow soil in crevices in the shade of rock faces on southern aspects in the Eastern Cape, and also overhanging rocks on mountains of the southern Karoo and Cedarberg. The plants are tiny and barely noticeable.
Synonyms:
See all synonyms of Crassula nemorosa
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Accepted name in llifle Database:Crassula nemorosa (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Endl.Repert. Bot. Syst. (Walpers) 2: 253 1843.Synonymy: 7
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Description: Crassula nemorosa is a very small, delicate succulent herb up to 50-150 mm high from small, perennial tubers. The branches are pale pink, decumbent with few short petioled glaucous leaves. Small cup-shaped flowers appear in winter, each petal being yellowish-green with brown stripes.
Stem: Herbaceous, erect or decumbent, blue-green, produced in spring, delicate, filiform, with distant nodes erect branched or unbranched 4-15 cm tall, but usually shorter.
Tuber: Globose with fibrous adventitious roots.
Leaves: Opposite, in more than 3 pairs, on short, fleshy, grey-green glaucous or greyish brown and often with brown lines, 3-15 mm long, 4-13 mm wide, flattened, broadly ovate, roundish-subreniform, to orbicular, rarely obtuse or truncate, cordate or abruptly cuneate margin entire or faintly repand, thin and membranous when dry, surface glabrous, grey-green with brown lines, base cordate to abruptly cuneate, tip rounded to truncate. Petiole 3-15 mm long.
Inflorescences: The flowers are held in loose terminal thyrses without peduncle. The stem is 5-15 cm high, including the fertile part. The pedicels threadlike, two or more together, the terminal umbellate.
Flowers: Single, nodding. Calyx-lobes 2/3 of corolla, triangular to ovate, subacute, sepals triangular-ovate, to 1,5-2.5 mm, acute to obtuse, glabrous, slightly fleshy, grey-green. Corolla star-shaped, shallowly cup-shaped and scarcely fused at base, to 8 mm in diameter, cream-green, often with pink-brown stripes. Petals lanceolate, to 35 mm long, and usually slightly keeled, with tips acute or acuminate becoming recurved. Stamens with yellow anthers. Squamae cuneate, 0,2-0,3 x 0,2-0,4 mm, usually slightly emarginate, abruptly constricted downwards and on a short stalk, slightly fleshy, reddish brown. Styles shortly subulate
Flowering period: Winter (May to August), but spontaneous flowering may occur after sporadic rains.
Similar species: Crassula nemorosaSN|34745]]SN|34745]] may be confused with forms of Crassula dentata but C. nemorosa is distinguished by grey-green leaves and shallowly cup-shaped flowers.
Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) J.P. Roux, "Flora of South Africa", 2003
2) Urs Eggli "Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Crassulaceae" Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 05/Nov/2012
3) W. H. Harvey, "Flora Capensis", Vol 2, 1894
4) Doreen Court "Succulent Flora of Southern Africa" CRC Press, 01/June/2000
5) Gideon Smith, Neil R. Crouch, "Guide to Succulents of Southern Africa", Struik Nature, 2009
6) Noel Urton, "Plants of the Swartkops valley bushveld", Zwartkops Trust, 1993
