Stats

Lifespan

Decades

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Subtropical shrubland

Range

Southern Africa

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Common

About

A slow-growing succulent shrub native to South Africa and Mozambique, with thick oval leaves that blush red at the tips in bright light. Kept as a houseplant it can outlive its owner, with specimens documented at over a century old.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Saxifragales

Family

Crassulaceae

Genus

Crassula

Species

Crassula ovata