Plants of
South Australia
Crassula closiana
Crassulaceae
Red Crassula,
Stalked Crassula
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 5

Prior names

Tillaea pedicellosa

Tillaea macrantha var. pedicellosa

Tillaea closiana

Crassula pedicellosa

Common names

Red Crassula

Stalked Crassula

Etymology

Crassula the diminutive of the Latin 'crassus' meaning thick, alluding to the thickening of the succulent leaves. Closiana possibly named after Dominique Clos (1821 - 1908), who was a French physician and botanist.

Distribution and status

Found in southern South Australia, growing on poor clay and sandy soils in winter-wet areas. Also found in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Annual herb with erect, smooth, usually wiry branches rarely to 10 cm high. Leaves oblanceolate, rarely elliptic to 10 mm long and 3.5 mm wide, obtuse or rounded, rarely acute, flat or slightly convex above and somewhat convex below. Flowers white-cream with red tinge along stems. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are small red-brown capsules in clusters along the stems. Seeds are orange-brown short oblong seed to 0.6 mm long and 0.2 mm wide, with a tuberculate surface.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between October and December. Collect whole plants that are drying off, turning red-brown with mature fruit-spikes. These will contain very small brown seeds when rubbed with your fingers. Place the plants in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the plants gently by hand or with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Be very careful as the seeds are very small. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seed viability is usually high.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
 
MSB

72,000 (0.72 g)
100+30-Aug-2007MJT72
Eyre Peninsula
100%
BGA 
MSB
146,000 (3.87 g)
146,000 (3.87 g)
501-Oct-2007RJB74636
Southern Lofty
19-Sep-200885%-18°C
BGA10,000 (0.1 g)5023-Oct-2007RJB75121
Southern Lofty
19-Sep-200895%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.