''Crassula cultrata'' (Sharp-leaved Crassula) 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 southern parts 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 ...

(the

Cape Provinces The Cape Provinces of South Africa is a biogeographical area used in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It is part of the WGSRPD region 27 Southern Africa. The area has the code "CPP". It includes the Sout ...

and

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Description

A small, erect, branching shrub (20-80 cm in height) with rounded, yellow-green leaves that have sharp, red-brown, cartilaginous margins. The leaf tip is typically rounded or obtuse. The succulent leaves are flattened, and ob-lanceolate or knife-shaped ("cultrata"). This shape, and the sharp, cartilaginous edges of its leaves, are distinctive. In December/January it produces elongated flower stems (12-40 cm), each with several loosely-held clumps of yellowish flowers (one of which is terminal). Each flower has black anthers and 3,5-4,5 mm long, cream coloured petals. The loose arrangement of the flowers is a key diagnostic character of this species.

Relatives

This species is related to ''

Crassula atropurpurea ''Crassula atropurpurea'' (Purple Crassula) is a succulent plant, very common and widespread in the southern Karoo regions of South Africa and Namibia. Description This species is extremely variable. It is typically a small (up to 60 cm), shru ...

'', ''

Crassula subaphylla ''Crassula subaphylla'' is a succulent plant belonging to the family Crassulaceae. It is widespread in the Karoo regions of South Africa and Namibia. Description A small, sparse, shrubby species. ''Crassula subaphylla'' is a small, dense to ...

'', ''

Crassula cotyledonis ''Crassula cotyledonis'' is a succulent plant endemic to the arid Namaqualand and Karoo regions of South Africa. Description This plant forms a low, sparse rosette. Its tiny, woody stem is short and against the ground. Its flattened, ovate (s ...

'', ''

Crassula pubescens ''Crassula pubescens'' is a succulent plant, common and widespread in the southern Karoo regions of South Africa. Description A small (up to 40 cm), shrubby perennial, with delicate, erect stems and pubescent (velvety) leaves that are 1-3 cm l ...

'' and ''

Crassula nudicaulis ''Crassula nudicaulis'' is a succulent plant native to South Africa (the Cape Provinces, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Provinces), and Lesotho. Description ''Crassula nudicaulis'' is a perennial succulent herb with a thickened ...

''. ''

Crassula rogersii ''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 culti ...

'', another similar species that is also found in river valleys, is very much smaller, with leaves that are almost cylindrical. ''C.cultrata'' has flattened leaves, twisted to one side of the stem, with a sharp margin.

Distribution

Crassula cultrata Jansenville 1 - Copy - Copy

It occurs from near

Swellendam Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them b ...

and

Ladismith Ladismith is a town and agricultural centre in the western Little Karoo region of South Africa's Western Cape province. Geography It is situated adjacent to a series of fertile, irrigated valleys, at an elevation of 550 m above sea level, at ...

in the west, throughout the

Little Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

and

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

regions, and across the arid parts of the

Eastern Cape Province The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 ...

. Its habitat is usually rocky ridges and outcrops in scrub vegetation, often in river valleys (like ''

'').''Crassula cultrata'' - PlantZAfrica.com
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15480475 cultrata Flora of the Cape Provinces Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus