Crassula elegans

Crassula elegans, as the name suggests, is a striking form. Elegans can also be loosely translated as gorgeous, beautiful or graceful. It can be seen in the wild in South Africa and Namibia. It is most common in the mountains in the west between Bushmanland and Namaqualand. Here it grows at high altitudes, in shady places and on sandy to gravelly slopes. It is a very variable species, which can also be found in many succulent collections with distinctly different forms.

The leaves are green, brown or even purplish red in colour, ovoid to lance-shaped, and if we cut the leaf open we find that it is triangular in cross-section. Overall, the leaves grow up to 1.5 cm long and 1 cm wide and grow in 4 rows. The leaf surface may be smooth, but there may also be fine hairs or rounded papillae. The small stalk gradually grows in width and the small stalk branches and may become woody. It is at its tallest at flowering time, when it grows another 6 cm long stalk. At that point it reaches about 10 cm.

The flower stalks grow in summer and autumn. They bear slightly fragrant, grape-like flowers of white, light brown to creamy yellowish colour. Once the flower stalks have dried, I recommend removing them as soon as possible.

This is a beautiful miniature and one to watch out for, especially when overwatering. In mid-summer it briefly suspends its growth, which is a natural phenomenon. It is suitable for window growers, who will be pleased with its miniature size, thanks to which it can fit into a small pot, even in the form of a very dense shrub, up to 6 cm in diameter. Apart from its size, it also impresses with its leaves and the interesting patterns found on them.