Crassula coccinea part of high society

Look out for cliff-dwellers! The surprise red greeting by Crassula coccinea up among the sandstone rocks on a Western Cape mountain is more uncommon than spotting a bird, dassie or baboon.

Pointed out to the fellow hikers, the cameras and cell phones will work as hard as mountain pride butterflies, the red specialist pollinators that also visit Disa uniflora.

Anchored on such a perch, the plant will survive more accidents, even fires better than most. The butterflies won’t remember from last time before the fire, they’ll spot it again, or rather their relatives will (Manning, 2009; iNaturalist; http://pza.sanbi.org).