Crassula dependens

Crassula dependens is a much branched perennial with hair-like papillae or nipple-like protuberances along the stem surfaces. The plant forms small, mat-like colonies, reaching heights around 15 cm.

The fleshy green, brown or red leaves are narrowly lanceolate with acute tips. The leaves are about 15 mm long.

The plant bears small white or cream tubular flowers growing in small heads on short stalks. The petal lobes have triangular, recurving tips and tiny ridges on their outside surfaces. Dark anthers can be seen in the flower mouth. Green sepals with acute tips envelop the corolla in picture. Flowering happens from midsummer to early autumn.

The species distribution is widespread inland in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, the Free State, North West and Lesotho, with an isolated secondary distribution in Namibia. The photo was taken during January east of Qacha’s Nek near the Lesotho border in KwaZulu-Natal.

The habitat is rocky hills in grassland. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Smith, et al, 2017; JSTOR; iSpot; http://redlist.sanbi.org).