''Crassula biplanata'' is a

succulent plant In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

native to rocky ledges and mountainous areas in the southern parts of South Africa (the Cape Provinces).

Description

Small (up to 30 cm), branching succulent perennial, with distinctive papillose internodes on its c.0,4cm diameter stem and tiny, gray-green, lanceolate leaves. The leaves become more silver-coloured in direct sunlight. Delicate tubular, white flowers appear in clusters in late Summer. The petals are distinctively long (4-6 mm).

Related species

This species has several close relatives, with which it is sometimes confused, namely: ''

Crassula ericoides ''Crassula ericoides'' is a species of succulent plant in the genus '' Crassula'' native to South Africa. Growing in the fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the We ...

'', ''

Crassula tetragona ''Crassula tetragona'' is a succulent plant native to Southern Africa. It is widely distributed from the Orange River boundary of Namaqualand to beyond the Kei River in the Eastern Cape. "Tetragona" comes from the phyllotaxy of the leaves. It ...

'', ''

Crassula planifolia ''Crassula'' is a genus of succulent plants containing about 200 accepted species, including the popular jade plant ('' Crassula ovata''). They are members of the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae) and are native to many parts of the globe, but cu ...

'' and ''

Crassula sarcocaulis ''Crassula sarcocaulis'' is a small shrubby succulent plant known by the common name bonsai crassula, due to its bonsai-like appearance. It is a perennial plant native to the eastern half of South Africa, on mountain slopes in rocky terrain. ...

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Distribution

It occurs from near Franschhoek in the west, in mountainous areas throughout the Little Karoo and Overberg regions, as far east as Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape Province. Its habitat is usually shallow soil on rocky ledges or very rocky soil on lower mountain slopes. It is sometimes also found in rock cracks in mountain ranges at higher altitude. In exposed positions the plants are smaller, often decumbent, and can be covered in a dense silvery waxy powder.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15482364 biplanata Flora of the Cape Provinces Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus