BERGIOIDES   Harvey, 1862

Synonyms :

Crassula aristata  Schönland (1909)

Crassula pusilla  Schönland (1913)

Section Glomeratae

Distribution : Found in the south-western Cape where it is restricted to the area between Worcester and Caledon; growing usually in open spaces on gravelly slopes  covered with fynbos vegetation.

Description by Tölken, 1985 :

Annuals with erect branches 20 - 60 mm high, rarely much less, glabrous, sparsely branched and with lateral branches much shorter than central one.

Leaves sessile, lanceolate to narrowly triangular, 4 - 8 (-12) x 2 - 4 mm, tapering into a stiff terminal point or seta, glabrous, with horny-papillose margin, dorsiventrally flattened or sometimes convex below, slightly fleshy and leathery, green to brown.

Inflorescence a thyrse, usually with many sessile dichasia, rarely reduced to one, with more or less sessile, 5-merous flowers.

Flowers : Sepals triangular, 2 - 3 mm long, sharply acute and/or with terminal seta, papillose-scabrid, somewhat fleshy, green, corolla cup-shaped to tubular, scarcely fused basally, white turning brown, petals triangular-lanceolate, acute and more or less keeled towards apex, erect with slightly recurved apices.

Flowering time : September - October.

The habit of the plants is usually spike-like but sometimes they are reduced to a single terminal cyme. The sepals can vary from 1.5 - 3 times the length of the petals.