Crassula rupestris colourful leaf tips

The leaves of Crassula rupestris may have red colouring of several hues along their upper surfaces and not only reddish margins as sometimes seen. This plant photographed in May in the south of the Little Karoo has clearly received sufficient moisture to produce plump leaves, although the strong red colour acquired during the past dry and hot summer season is still there.

The plant is flourishing although the inflorescences in view are smaller than sometimes seen. The recurving and pointed petals are white; the young (superior) ovaries or rings of carpels are pink. The anthers are dark, each at the top of a sturdy white filament.

Note the small leaf pairs along the flower stalk, shaped something like tiny shoes or a clothes iron. The bases of the pairs of opposite leaves of this plant appear to be fused, but for a spectacular form of that phenomenon, inspect C. perforata.

The plant shown here may be C. rupestris subsp. rupestris (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; iSpot; www.plantzafrica.com).