author is sannse. · CC BY-SA 3.0
About
Also known as the jade plant, lucky plant, or money plant, *Crassula ovata* is a popular, hardy succulent prized by hobbyists for its thick, shiny, and evergreen foliage and its ability to thrive with minimal care.
Field notes
Morphology
The plant is an upright, strongly branched shrub that can reach heights of up to 2.5 metres. It features thick, shiny, smooth, obovate, wedge-shaped leaves that grow in opposing pairs. These leaves are typically a rich jade green, though they may appear yellow-green, and often have reddish margins. The stems are succulent and fleshy, remaining so throughout life, and the bark of older branches peels off in horizontal, brownish stripes. When mature, it produces small white or pink, star-like flowers in a terminal thyrse.
Distribution & habitat
Native to the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, and Mozambique.
Cultivation notes
As a succulent, it requires little water in the summer and even less in the winter, being susceptible to root rot from overwatering. It needs a porous substrate with good drainage and requires four to six hours of direct sun or medium shade exposure with bright light daily. The plant can display a red tinge on its leaves when exposed to bright sunlight, and it is easily propagated from clippings or even stray leaves.
Habitat
- Altitude
- —
- Altitude Class
- —
- Native To
- Mozambique, South Africa
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- easy
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