Crassula elegans subsp. elegans under Othonna furcata

Crassula elegans subsp. elegans is a small, spreading succulent, sometimes reaching 5 cm in height. The plant in picture is greenish grey; it may also be seen with brick-red leaf colouring.

The stems are densely covered in chunky succulent leaves that grow in pairs. The leaves may be finely hairy. The leaf shape is flat or concave on the inside, keeled on the outside with rounded margins.

C. elegans subsp. elegans grows here at Daberas in the Richtersveld at the foot of an Othonna furcata shrub. This is the only subspecies of C. elegans occurring in South Africa, only in the Northern Cape but in Namibia as well. The other subspecies, subsp. namibensis, is Namibian.

This Crassula grows in sandy soil among rocks. Although living on the edge, the plant copes unthreatened in habitat early in the twenty first century, as long as the desert is left free from human invasion and “improvement” (Williamson, 2010; iSpot; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).