Herbs, undershrubs or shrubs, sometimes treelets, rarely aquatics, usually succulent
Leaves opposite, in whorls or spirally arranged, simple, usually entire or crenate, rarely lobed, often in basal rosettes, often with hydathodes (water-excreting pores); stipules 0
Flowers bisexual, regular (except in Tylecodon grandiflorus), usually in terminal thyrses, sometimes solitary
Calyx: sepals 4 or 5(-12), free or ± united, persistent
Corolla: petals 4 or 5(-12), free or ± united, as many as sepals, persistent
Stamens 8 or 10(-12), usually twice as many as sepals, at one or two levels; filaments arising from base of petals or on corolla tube; anthers 2-thecous, introrse to lateral, with longitudinal slits
Squamae (nectary scales/glands) 1 at base of each carpel
Carpels as many as calyx lobes, usually free or almost so, each gradually tapering into a style; ovules few to many on the adaxial suture; stigma simple, usually terminal
Fruit usually a head of free follicles often enclosed by dry petals
Seeds small; endosperm present
Nomenclature:
Crassulaceae
Harvey: 327 (1862)
Keay: 114 (1954)
Friedrich: 1 (1968)
Tölken: 1 (1985)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Genera ± 33, species over 1500, cosmopolitan (excluding Australia and western Pacific), with centres in southern Africa and Central America
Southern Africa: Genera 6 (1 exotic), species 234 (1 exotic)
References:
FRIEDRICH, H. 1968. Crassulaceae. Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika 52
HARVEY, W.H. 1862. Crassulaceae. Flora capensis 2
KEAY, R.W.J. 1954. Crassulaceae. Flora of west tropical Africa, 2nd edn 1,1
TÖLKEN, H.R. 1985. Crassulaceae. Flora of southern Africa 14
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Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
