Crassula lactea outliers

Three Crassula lactea inflorescences upon leaf rosettes were seen growing here over near vertical rocks, during May in Nature’s Valley.

Sturdy stems from the left like powerlines suggest that these milky stonecrop rosettes form part of a bigger plant not in view. To keep the rosettes in position at this angle, adventitious roots must have anchored them in the cracks below the rosettes. Spreading and forming colonies are ways of increasing plant survival of many species for longer periods.

Plant roots generally contribute to the breaking of surface rocks by invading the finest cracks in search of moisture and nutrients; a very slow process. Breaking rocks contributes generally to plant survival later on.

Life forms have so many ways of prolonging life until seed is set and another generation gets a chance (Frandsen, 2017; Smith, et al, 2017; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist).