DECUMBENS var. DECUMBENS
Synonyms :
Bulliarda trichotoma (Ecklon & Zeyher (1837) / Tillaea trichotoma (Ecklon & Zeyher) Walpter (1843)
Tillaea macrantha Hooker f. (1841) / Crassula macrantha (Hooker f.) Diels & Pritzel (1904)
Tiilaea ovallei Philippi (1872) / Crassula ovallei (Philippi) Reiche (1897)
Tillaea radicans Philippi (1872) / Crassula radicans (Philippi) Reiche (1897) (nom. illeg., Art. 53.1)
Tillaea macrantha var. sepalosa F.Mueller (1881)
Crassula mongolica Franchet (1882) / Tillaea mongolica (Franchet) S-H.Fu (1965)
Tillaea micrantha Tate (1890) (nom. inval., Art. 61.1)
Tillaea rencana Philippi (1894)
Crassula leipoldtii Schönland & Baker f. (1902)
Crassula macrantha var. nuda Ostenfeld (1916)
Crassula langebergensis Schönland (1929)
Distribution : Chile, Australia, Mongolia, South Africa (Northern Cape, Western Cape) : in Sa in succulent Karoo, sandy regions near pools.
Description (by E. van Jaarsveld & U. Eggli in IHSP, 2003) :
Decumbent to erect annuals to 12 cm tall or much shorter, freely branching from the base and forming small groups, rarely mat-forming.
Leaves 3 – 10 x 0.5 – 2 mm, sessile, linear-lanceolate, oblanceolate to elliptic, subulate, glabrous, green to reddish-brown, upper face flat, lower face convex, tip acute with a terminal papilla.
Inflorescences thyrses with numerous dichasia (1 – 2 flowers per node).
Flowers pedicellate, 4- (outside Africa) or 5-merous (Africa), sepals ovate to lanceolate, (1.3-) 1.9 – 2.4 x 0.3 – 0.8 mm, margin denticulate, corolla cup-shaped, white to cream, petals ovate to lanceolate, (1-) 1.5 – 1.9 x 0.6 – 0.9 mm, acute, equal or shorter than the sepals, nectar scales obtriangular, 0.4 x 0.3 mm, seeds oblong, 0.44 – 0.5 x 0.23 mm, reddish-brown, densely papillate.
Flowering time :late spring to mid-summer.
Closely related to C. closiana (sepals papillate) and C. connata (seeds slightly ridged).