''Crassula brevifolia'' 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 the arid western edge of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(including the Namaqualand, as far south as Vanrhynsdorp) as well as southern

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Description

A small (reaching 50cm in height), branching, perennial shrub. It has distinctively short, thickly-succulent leaves, which are roughly triangular in cross-section but with slightly rounded angles (leaf-margins). It has flaking brown bark on its thin, woody stems.

Variation

This is a very variable species, with two subspecies and many regional forms. * subsp. ''brevifolia''. The type subsp. grows on exposed quartzitic or granite outcrops, from

to as far south as

Vanrhynsdorp Van Rhynsdorp (Afrikaans: Vanrhynsdorp) is a settlement in West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Van Rhynsdorp was founded as Trutro ("TroeTroe") after the area was first explored by Europeans in 1661 by P ...

. It has papillate ovaries (each with 18-24 ovules), and the leaves usually point upwards, between visible internodes. * subsp. ''psammophila''. A rarer subspecies that favours flatter sands or gravels near the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...

in the

Northern Cape Province The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, ...

. Toelken, H.R. (1975). ''A Revision of the Genus Crassula in Southern Africa''. South African Journal of Botany. 8. p.424.

Related species

This species is closely related to ''

Crassula rupestris ''Crassula rupestris'', called buttons on a string, is a species of '' Crassula'' native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-e ...

'' and ''

Crassula perforata ''Crassula perforata'' is a succulent plant native to the Cape Provinces and KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12234751 brevifolia Flora of the Cape Provinces Plants described in 1862