Crassula multicava
Fairy crassula
Family CrassulaceaeAlso called Pitted crassula, London pride, Umadinsane
About
Crassula multicava, the fairy crassula, is a mat-forming perennial succulent from South Africa that is widely used as a groundcover, including in shade.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Light
- Tolerates shade and low light, though deep shade can dull leaf colour and flowering.
- Water
- Drought resistant.
- Temperature
- Tolerates cold down to about −3 °C.
- Soil
- Well-composted clay soil when grown in pots.
- Propagation
- Cuttings, seed, or the plantlets that form on the flower heads.
- Growth rate
- Moderate to fast.
- Mature size
- Usually about 15 cm tall (up to 30 cm), spreading as a mat.
Field notes
Morphology
A moderately fast-growing, mat-forming plant with plump, oval to round, deep green leaves in opposite pairs; the cultivar 'Purple Dragon' has purple undersides. Starry white to pinkish four-petalled flowers appear in winter in the wild. Plants are usually about 15 cm tall, occasionally 30 cm.
Distribution & habitat
Native to South Africa, especially the mountains of Natal and the Eastern and Southern Cape, on forest margins, river and stream banks, and in coastal and subtropical thicket.
Cultivation notes
Used as a groundcover, it resists drought and cold down to about −3 °C and tolerates low light, though shade can dull its colour and flowering. It suits pots of well-composted clay soil, self-seeds, roots from cuttings and drops plantlets from its flower heads that grow into new plants.
History & etymology
In Zulu it is called umadinsane, a name shared with several other plants.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- South Africa
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- Not recorded
- Temperature
- Tolerates cold down to about −3 °C.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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