Crassula sericea var. velutina

Crassula sericea var. velutina is a small, much-branched leaf succulent. Its branches are usually decumbent while erect in the other two varieties.

The thyrse-shaped inflorescence may be up to 10 cm long. The cream-coloured to pale yellow flowers have red stigmas and brown anthers. Flowering happens in spring.

The photo taken in August in the Hester Malan Succulent Garden in the Goegap Nature Reserve shows only the dry, red-brown husks of retained sepals curving out on last year’s flowers. Bare, grey stalks in picture persisting among the leaves must be from previous years.

These plants grow near the Gariep River in the Richtersveld and southern Namibia. Their habitat is higher, south-facing slopes where the plants grow in quartzite crevices. The species C. sericea is not threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century; the status of the variety has not been assessed (Frandsen, 2017; Williamson, 2010; Le Roux, et al, 2005; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).