Crassula sericea var. sericea flowering

This Crassula sericea var. sericea plant was seen flowering in August in the Hester Malan Succulent Garden of the Goegap Nature Reserve near Springbok.

Living more comfortably in cultivation than its compatriots do in their natural Richtersveld habitat, probably accounts for the minimal presence of red or brown lines along the leaf tips. The three varieties of C. sericea, all occurring in the Richtersveld, grade into each other.

The small flowers are borne in thyrse-shaped inflorescences well above the ground-level leaf rosettes at the branch-tips. The inflorescence is branched, but at the stage shown in the photo the flower buds are still close together in one globose cluster. Tiny stem leaves are present below the flowers.

The open flowers are cream, nearly white or pale yellow, the five tiny petals may curve out before their tips. The sepals are reddish brown around the corolla base (Frandsen, 2017; Williamson, 2010; iNaturalist).