Crassula arborescens

(Mill.) Willd.

Round-leaved crassula

Crassulaceae Edible: Roots 1,438 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Crassula arborescens—the silver jade plant, silver dollar (jade) plant, beestebul, Chinese jade, cookie plant, money plant, or money tree, that is endemic to Western Cape, South Africa, is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae.

Description

A succulent tree. It grows to about 3 m tall. he bark is green-grey, succulent and smooth. The leaves are fleshy and bluish-grey. They are oval and tapering towards the base. They have a waxy bloom. They are 3 cm long by 3 cm wide. The flowers are pink and in clusters at the ends of branches. The fruit are small and 6 mm long. They have 3-5 separate oval follicles. The roots are edible.

Edible Uses

The roots are eaten.

Traditional Uses

The roots are eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a warm temperate to subtropical climate plant. It grows on rocky hillsides. It can grow on fairly poor, well-drained soils. It is salt tolerant. It is best in a partly shaded position. It is resistant to frost and drought. Hobart Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 9-11.

Where It Grows

Africa, Australia, Eswatini, Hawaii, Pacific, Slovenia, South Africa*, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tasmania, USA,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds. They can also be grown by stem or leaf cuttings.

Notes

There are 216 succulent Crassula species. There are also other Crassula species. There are 300 total.

Synonyms

Cotyledon arborescens Mill.

Also Known As

Bull tacky, Drevesasta tolstica, Karka, Kerky, Silver jade

References (13)

Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 293
Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 163
Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 75
Llamas, K.A., 2003, Tropical Flowering Plants. Timber Press. p 180
Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/

Show all 13 references

Palgrave, K.C., 1996, Trees of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. p 201
Palmer, E and Pitman, N., 1972, Trees of Southern Africa. Vol. 1. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town p 655
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 97
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 47
Sp. pl. 1(2):1554. 1798
Staples, G.W. and Herbst, D.R., 2005, A tropical Garden Flora. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii. p 255 (Drawing)
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179