Plants of
South Australia
Crassula tetramera
Crassulaceae
Common Crassula,
Australian Stonecrop
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Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock painting: 1

Prior names

Crassula sieberiana ssp. tetramera, partly

Common names

Common Crassula

Australian Stonecrop

Etymology

Crassula the diminutive of the Latin 'crassus' meaning thick, alluding to the fleshy leaves and branches. Tetramera meaning having flower parts in sets of four.

Distribution and status

Found across most part of South Australia. Also found in all States. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Murray, South Eastern
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Annual forb; sprawling to prostrate with succulent branches to 15 cm long. Leaves opposite to each other, usually with a sheath at the base; to 0.32 cm long and less than 1 mm wide, flat and very narrow: surface hairless, edges finely warty, at least towards the tips; tips rounded. Flowers tiny with four petals, in clusters of 3-12 at the bases of the leaves. Fruits are small capsules in clusters along the stems. Seeds are brown ovoid seed to 0.4 mm long and 0.2 mm wide, with a smooth 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. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA62,800 (1.03 g)501-Oct-2007RJB74969
South Eastern		19-Sep-2008100%-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.
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.