Crassula capitella, a plant that turns red in the sun

As its name suggests, Crassula capitella belongs to the Crassulaceae family. This succulent native of South Africa grows wild on the dry slopes of Botswana and northern Namibia. It benefits from the sun, which turns its leaves from green to red.

Crassula capitella is an upright or recumbent succulent plant. It grows from five to 40 centimetres in height, but can form mats up to a metre in diameter.

Its base consists of a rosette of leaves. Roots develop at the nodes of the stems, even before they touch the ground. Stems are smooth and sometimes dotted with curved hairs, as in crassula lanuginosa.

Smooth and hairy too, the leaves are helix-shaped or lanceolate-linear. The fleshy, lime-green leaf blades turn bright red when exposed to light. They measure up to ten centimetres long and four centimetres wide.

From midsummer to autumn, Crassula capitella produces tubular flowers with cream or white petals. These flowers are grouped together in a spike-shaped inflorescence.

Crassula capitella is considered non-toxic, making it safe for cultivation with children and pets.