Crassula rupestris

The concertina plant or sosatiebos (Afrikaans), as Crassula rupestris is commonly known, is one of the much admired succulent shrubs of South Africa.

In shade, the leaves near the tips of the thin, brittle branches are dull blue-green. In harsh sun of the plants often dry environment the leaves may adopt shades of yellow and even red.

The species distribution is widespread, from Namibia to the Northern Cape, southwards from the Richtersveld and Namaqualand to most parts of the Western Cape. Common in the Little Karoo, the plants range continues to the Baviaanskloof and other arid, inland, westerly parts of the Eastern Cape as far as Gqeberha.

The rare subsp. commutata is found only in the Richtersveld and southern Namibia in a restricted range. Subsp. rupestris, which is of least concern in population stability terms occurs widespread in the Western and Eastern Cape, while subsp. marnierana is also rare, only found in a few montane areas of the southern Cape. The plants shown in this Album are all subsp. rupestris unless otherwise indicated.  

The habitat of the species is variable, often semi-arid, stony slopes and rocky ridges among spekboom, guarri and arid fynbos. The plants tend to proliferate where overgrazing occurs. Although two of the subspecies are rare, the populations of all three are stable in habitat, none of them considered to be threatened early in the twenty first century.

Sosatiebos can be grown without difficulty from small cuttings. Sandy soil, full sun and limited watering will do. Whatever moisture it gets in nature comes mainly in winter (Smith, et al, 2017; Frandsen, 2017; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; http://redlist.sanbi.org).