Crassulaceae

Mossy stonecrop Crassula tillaea, copyright Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz.

Belongs within: Hamamelidaceae.
Contains: Rhodiola, Tillaea, Dudleya, Sedum.

The Crassulaceae are a family of succulent plants found nearly worldwide but most diverse in north-temperate regions and South Africa. In members of the genus Crassula, the leaves typically bear numerous hydathodes (water-exuding pores); in other genera, forming the subfamily Sempervivoideae, the leaves have only a single apical or subapical hydathode. In species of the genus Bryophyllum, new individuals may be produced vegetatively as plantlets forming along the edges of the parent plant's leaves, later breaking off and taking root.

Characters (from Hickman 1993): Annuals to subshrubs, fleshy. Leaves generally simple, generally basal and cauline, alternate or opposite, generally reduced upward. Inflorescence generally a cyme, generally bracted. Flower with sepals generally 3-5, generally more or less free; petals generally 3-5, more or less free or fused; stamens equal to or more numerous than sepals, free or epipetalous; pistils generally 3-5, simple (sometimes fused at base), ovary 1-chambered, placenta 1, parietal, ovules 1-many, style 1. Fruit follicles generally 3-5. Seeds 1-many, small

Crassulaceae
    |--Sempervivoideae [Cotyledonoideae, Echeverieae, Sedoideae] T00
    |    |  i. s.: Sempervivum KC83
    |    |           |--S. arachnoideum S96
    |    |           |--S. montanum KC83
    |    |           `--S. tectorum C55
    |    |         Cotyledon orbiculata H93
    |    |           |--C. o. var. orbiculata H93
    |    |           `--C. o. var. oblonga H93
    |    |--+--Dudleya NDA05
    |    |  `--Sedum NDA05
    |    `--Kalanchoe [Kalanchoeae] NDA05
    |         |--K. blossfeldiana MH98
    |         |--K. daigremontiana NDA05 [=Bryophyllum daigremontiana H90]
    |         |--K. longiflora H90
    |         `--K. spathulata LK14
    `--Crassula JB99 [Crassuloideae T00]
         |  i. s.: C. aquatica [=Tillaea aquatica; incl. C. saginoides] H93
         |         C. aurusbergensis CV06
         |         C. ausensis CV06
         |           |--C. a. ssp. ausensis CV06
         |           |--C. a. ssp. giessii CV06
         |           `--C. a. ssp. titanopsis CV06
         |         C. colorata OS04
         |           |--C. c. var. colorata H90
         |           `--C. c. var. acuminata H90
         |         C. connata [incl. Tillaea erecta] H93
         |         C. decumbens [incl. C. macrantha] H90
         |         C. elegans CV06
         |           |--C. e. ssp. elegans CV06
         |           `--C. e. ssp. namibensis CV06
         |         C. exserta OS04
         |         C. falcata JB99
         |         C. helmsii (Kirk) Berger 1930 H90, A61 [=Tillaea helmsii Kirk 1899 A61]
         |         C. luederitzii CV06
         |         C. lycopodioides BT72
         |         C. marnierana NDA05
         |         C. multicava H90
         |         C. natans GK00
         |         C. numaisensis CV06
         |         C. paludosa D03
         |         C. pedicellosa GK00
         |         C. peduncularis GK00 (see below for synonymy)
         |         C. perforata NDA05
         |         C. sarmentosa H90
         |         C. sieberiana (Schult.) Druce 1917 H90, A61 (see below for synonymy)
         |         C. solieri H93
         |         C. tetragona H93
         |           |--C. t. ssp. tetragona H90
         |           `--C. t. ssp. robusta H90
         `--C. sect. Glomeratae BC98
              |--C. basaltica BC98
              |--C. campestris (Ecklon & Zeyh.) Endlicher in Walpers 1843 (see below for synonymy) BC98
              `--C. tillaea BC98

Crassulaceae incertae sedis:
  Rhodiola O88
  Rosularia O88
    |--R. marnieri O88
    `--R. semiensis B06
  Aeonium H93
    |--A. arboreum Y98
    `--A. haworthii H93
  Umbilicus PL04
    |--U. horizontalis PT98
    `--U. rupestris (Salisbury) Dandy 1948 PL04
  Andromischus schuldtianus CV06
    |--A. s. ssp. schuldtianus CV06
    |--A. s. ssp. brandbergensis CV06
    `--A. s. ssp. juttae CV06
  Tylecodon CV06
    |--T. aridimontanus CV06
    `--T. aurusbergensis CV06
  Bryophyllum H06
    |--B. delagoense [=Kalanchoe delagoense; incl. B. tubiflorum, K. tubiflora] H90
    `--B. pinnatum [=Kalanchoe pinnata; incl. B. calycinum] H90
  Tillaea A61
  Parvisedum H93
    |--P. congdonii H93
    |--P. leiocarpum H93
    |--P. pentandrum H93
    `--P. pumilum H93
  Bulliarda DC. 1801 KC01

Crassula campestris (Ecklon & Zeyh.) Endlicher in Walpers 1843 [=Tetraphyle campestre Ecklon & Zeyh. 1837; incl. C. pentandra ssp. catalaunica Vigo & Terradas 1969] BC98

Crassula peduncularis GK00 [incl. Tillaea purpurata Hook. f. 1847 A61, C. purpurata (Hook. f.) Domin 1925 H90, A61]

Crassula sieberiana (Schult.) Druce 1917 H90, A61 [=Tillaea sieberiana Schult. 1827 A61; incl. T. muscosa Forst. f. 1786 non Linnaeus 1753 A61, T. verticillaris DC. 1828 A61]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[A61] Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand vol. 1. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. R. E. Owen, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).

[BT72] Baker, E. W., & D. M. Tuttle. 1972. New species and further notes on the Tetranychoidea mostly from the southwestern United States (Acarina: Tetranychidae and Tenuipalpidae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 116: 1–37.

[BC98] Brullo, S., G. Campo, C. Marcenò, S. Romano & G. Siracusa. 1998. Crassula campestris (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Endl. (Crassulaceae), a new record for the Italian flora. Willdenowia 28: 53–58.

[B06] Burgoyne, P. M. 2006. Review: Plants of the Simen. A flora of the Simen Mountains and surroundings, northern Ethiopia. Bothalia 36 (2): 253.

[C55] Candolle, A. de. 1855. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 2. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.

[CV06] Craven, P., & P. Vorster. 2006. Patterns of plant diversity and endemism in Namibia. Bothalia 36 (2): 175–189.

[D03] Dusén, P. 1903. The vegetation of western Patagonia. In: Scott, W. B. (ed.) Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896–1899 vol. 8. Botany pp. 1–34. The University: Princeton (New Jersey).

[GK00] Gibson, N., & G. J. Keighery. 2000. Flora and vegetation of the Byenup-Muir reserve system, south-west Western Australia. CALMScience 3 (3): 323–402.

[H90] Harden, G. J. (ed.) 1990. Flora of New South Wales vol. 1. New South Wales University Press.

[H06] Henderson, L. 2006. Comparisons of invasive plants in southern Africa originating from southern temperate, northern temperate and tropical regions. Bothalia 36 (2): 201–222.

[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).

[JB99] Johansson, J., R. Berg, A. Pifferi, S. Svenberg & L. O. Bjorn. 1999. Time-resolved studies of light propagation in Crassula and Phaseolus leaves. Photochemistry and Photobiology 69: 242–247.

[KC01] Kirk, P. M., P. F. Cannon, J. C. David & J. A. Stalpers. 2001. Ainsworth & Bisby's Dictionary of the Fungi 9^th ed. CAB International: Wallingford (UK).

[KC83] Körner, C., & P. Cochrane. 1983. Influence of plant physiognomy on leaf temperature on clear midsummer days in the Snowy Mountains, south-eastern Australia. Acta Œcologica Œcologiae Plantae 4 (2): 117–124.

[LK14] Lyons, M. N., G. J. Keighery, L. A. Gibson & T. Handasyde. 2014. Flora and vegetation communities of selected islands off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 81: 205–244.

[MH98] Morikawa, H., A. Higaki, M. Nohno, M. Takahashi, M. Kamada, M. Nakata, G. Toyohara, Y. Okamura, K. Matsui, S. Kitani, K. Fujita, K. Irifune & N. Goshima. 1998. More than a 600-fold variation in nitrogen dioxide assimilation among 217 plant taxa. Plant, Cell and Environment 21: 180–190.

[NDA05] Nickrent, D. L., J. P. Der & F. E. Anderson. 2005. Discovery of the photosynthetic relatives of the "Maltese mushroom" Cynomorium. BMC Evolutionary Biology 5: 38.

[OS04] Obbens, F. J., & L. W. Sage. 2004. Vegetation and flora of a diverse upland remnant of the Western Australian wheatbelt (Nature Reserve A21064). Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 87 (1): 19–28.

[O88] Ohba, H. 1988. The alpine flora of the Nepal Himalayas: an introductory note. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 19–46.

[PT98] Panitsa, M., & D. Tzanoudakis. 1998. Contribution to the study of the Greek flora: flora and vegetation of the E Aegean islands Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi. Willdenowia 28: 95–116.

[PL04] Pohl, G., & I. Lenski. 2004. Zur Verbreitung und Vergesellschaftung von Pennisetum orientale Rich. in Nordeuböa (Griechenland) (Poaceae, Paniceae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 83 (2): 209–223.

[S96] Schatz, H. 1996. Oribatid mites (Oribatida) in alpine dry meadows (Austria, central Alps). In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 633–635. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

[T00] Thorne, R. F. 2000. The classification and geography of the flowering plants: dicotyledons of the class Angiospermae (subclasses Magnoliidae, Ranunculidae, Caryophyllidae, Dilleniidae, Rosidae, Asteridae, and Lamiidae). The Botanical Review 66: 441–647.

[Y98] Yannitsaros, A. 1998. Additions to the flora of Kithira (Greece) I. Willdenowia 28: 77–94.

Last updated: 27 March 2022.