Species library › Crassula › Crassula perfoliata
Succulents Well documented

Crassula perfoliata

Crassula perfoliata is an evergreen succulent subshrub up to about 1 m tall, from rocky outcrops, cliffs and grassland in eastern South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It has grey-green, often sickle-shaped leaves in opposite rows and dense heads of red, pink or whitish flowers in summer. There are four varieties. The best known, var. falcata (the propeller plant), holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit. It wants strong light, very free drainage, a summer-growing water rhythm and a frost-free, dry winter.

Crassula perfoliata
Photo: Christer T Johansson, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

It grows on rocky outcrops, cliff faces and canyon walls, often on quartzite sandstone, and in rocky grassland on steep slopes. These are open, sunny and fast-draining sites. The var. falcata form occurs from the Groot Winterhoek range into the Eastern Cape.

Only 5 records carry an elevation, spanning 42–1800 m with a median of 91 m. The distribution runs from the coastal Eastern Cape inland to the Mpumalanga and Limpopo escarpments, so many populations are well above sea level.

Eastern CapeKwaZulu-NatalEswatiniMpumalanga and LimpopoMozambiqueZimbabwe

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 3.0 licence, unmodified.