Crassula nudicaulis var. platyphylla

Crassula nudicaulis var. platyphylla is a perennial leaf succulent growing to heights from 20 cm to 40 cm. The plant maintains a persistent rootstock and leafy stems across several seasons.

The flowers grow in dense clusters spaced along long, erect, unbranched stalks. The sepals are green with hairy margins. The small petal lobes are creamy white. 

The leaves are mainly grouped at ground level, few small, paired ones up the stems. The plants may clump through basal branching. Leaves are paddle-shaped and succulent. They are shorter and rounder than those of C. nudicaulis var. nudicaulis. Leaf colour is blue-green, but the leaves may turn pink or red when growing in full sun, especially the upper parts.

The distribution of the variety lies inland in the south of the Northern Cape, inland in the Western Cape, and inland in the west of the Eastern Cape.

The habitat is semi-arid, karoid scrubland on dry, stony slopes and flats, often in exposed conditions in clay soils. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Smith, et al, 2017; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).