The
Crassulaceae, or
orpine family, is a family of
dicotyledonDicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. There are around 199,350 species within this group...
s. They store water in their succulent leaves. They are found worldwide, but mostly occur in the
Northern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and southern
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce. The family includes about 1,400 species in 33 genera.
No member of this family is an important
cropAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
plant, but many are popular for
horticultureHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
; many members have a bizarre intriguing appearance, and are quite hardy, typically needing only minimal care.
Discussion
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The
Crassulaceae, or
orpine family, is a family of
dicotyledonDicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. There are around 199,350 species within this group...
s. They store water in their succulent leaves. They are found worldwide, but mostly occur in the
Northern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
and southern
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce. The family includes about 1,400 species in 33 genera.
No member of this family is an important
cropAgriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
plant, but many are popular for
horticultureHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation. Some would say that horticulture is the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant...
; many members have a bizarre intriguing appearance, and are quite hardy, typically needing only minimal care. Familiar species include the
Jade plantCommonly known as jade plant, friendship tree, lucky plant or Money Plant, Crassula ovata is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers. It is native to South Africa, and is common as a houseplant worldwide...
or "friendship tree",
Crassula ovata and "
Florists' KalanchoeKalanchoe blossfeldiana is a commonly cultivated house plant of the genus Kalanchoe. They are succulent plants and can grow up to 12". The flowers consist of four petals and can be red, purple, orange, yellow and white and the plant may flower all year round.-External links:*...
",
Kalanchoe blossfeldia.
Classification within the family is difficult because many of the species hybridize readily, both in the wild and in cultivation. Some older classifications included the Crassulaceae in the
RosalesRosales is an order of flowering plants, including nine families, the type family being the rose family Rosaceae. These nine families are those shown by the genetic analysis carried out by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group to be related to each other. Their analysis showed that the old Cronquist...
, but newer schemes treat them in the order
SaxifragalesSaxifragales is an order of flowering plants. Their closest relatives are a large eudicot group known as the rosids by the definition of rosids given in the APG II classification system. Some authors define the rosids more widely, including Saxifragales as their most basal group. ...
.
CAM photosynthesis (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) is named after the family, because the pathway was first discovered in crassulacean plants.
Genera
- Adromischus
Adromischus is a genus of easily propagated leaf succulents from the Crassulaceae family.Adromischus are endemic to southern Africa.The name comes from the ancient Greek "adros" et "mischos" .- Species :* Adromischus alstonii...
- Aeonium
Aeonium is a genus of about 35 species of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae.The name comes from the ancient Greek "aionos" ....
- Aichryson
Aichryson is a genus of about 15 species of succulent, subtropical plants, mostly native to the Canary Islands, with a few in the Azores, Madeira and Morocco, and one in Portugal.The species of Aichryson are not frost-resistant...
- Chiastophyllum
- Cotyledon
Cotyledon is a genus of the Crassulaceae family.Species include:* Cotyledon chrysantha* Cotyledon elisae* Cotyledon orbiculata – Pig's Ear, Round-Leafed Navel-Wort* Cotyledon tomentosa - Bear's Paw...
- Crassula
Crassula is a large genus of succulent plants containing many species, including the popular Jade Plant, Crassula ovata. They are native to many parts of the globe, but cultivated varieties are almost exclusively from the Eastern Cape of South Africa....
- Diamorpha
Diamorpha is a genus of family Crassulaceae. It includes only the species Diamorpha smallii, endemic to the southeastern United States. It becomes active in late Fall and Winter, blooms in late March then dies. It has red succulent leaves that act to reflect light and hold water....
- Dudleya
Dudleya is a genus of succulent perennials, consisting of about 45 species in southwest North America.The fleshy and glabrous leaves occur in basal rosettes, in colors generally ranging from green to gray. The inflorescences are on vertical or inclined stems up to a meter high, but usually much...
- Echeveria
Echeveria is a large genus of succulents in the Crassulaceae family, native from Mexico to northwestern South America. The genus is named after the 18th century Mexican botanical artist, Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy...
- Graptopetalum
Graptopetalum is a plant genus of the family Crassulaceae. They are perennial succulent plants and native to Mexico and Arizona. They grow usually in a rosette...
- Greenovia
- Hylotelephium
Hylotelephium is a genus of family Crassulaceae. It includes about 33 species distributed in Asia, Europe, and North America.Species in the genus, formerly included in Sedum, are popular garden plants, known as "live-for-ever" or "orpine."...
- Hypagophytum
Hypagophytum is a genus of family Crassulaceae. It includes only the species Hypagophytum abyssinicum, endemic to Ethiopia....
- Jovibarba
Jovibarba is a small genus of three species of succulents in the family Crassulaceae, endemic to Europe. The genus is closely related to Sempervivum. Some taxonomists classify it as a subgenus of Sempervivum...
- Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe, also written Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë and , is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent flowering plants in the Family Crassulaceae, mainly native to the Old World but with a few species now growing wild in the New World following introduction.Most are shrubs or perennial...
- Lenophyllum
Lenophyllum is a genus of family Crassulaceae. It includes about six species distributed in southwestern North America....
- Monanthes
Monanthes is a genus of small, succulent, subtropical plants of the Crassulaceae family. The about ten species are mostly endemic to the Canary Islands and Salvage Islands, with some found on Madeira. Its center of diversity is Tenerife, with seven species occurring on this island. On...
- Orostachys
- Pachyphytum
- Perrierosedum
- Phedimus
- Pistorinia
- Prometheum
- Pseudosedum
- Rhodiola
Rhodiola is a genus of perennial plants in the family Crassulaceae that resemble Sedum and other members of the family. Like sedums, Rhodiola species are often called stonecrops. Some authors merge Rhodiola into Sedum....
- Rosularia
Rosularia is a genus of family Crassulaceae. It includes about 35 species from Europe and northern Africa....
- Sedum
Sedum is the large stonecrop genus of the Crassulaceae, representing about 400 species of leaf succulents, found throughout the northern hemisphere, varying from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have water-storing leaves. The flowers usually have five petals, seldom four or six...
- Sempervivum
- Thompsonella
Thompsonella is a genus of family Crassulaceae. It includes about eight species endemic to Mexico....
- Tylecodon
Tylecodon is a genus of plant in family Crassulaceae. It contains the following species :* Tylecodon aridimontanus, G.Will.* Tylecodon aurusbergensis, G.Will. & Van Jaarsv....
- Umbilicus
Umbilicus is a genus of over ninety species of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae. Many of its species have been given synonyms under different genera such as Rosularia, Cotyledon, and Chiastophyllum...
- Villadia
Villadia is a genus of family Crassulaceae. It includes about 25 to 30 species distributed from Texas to Peru....
External links