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Crassula capitella, (red flames, red pagoda or campfire plant) is a perennial succulent plant native to southern Africa.

Campfire Plant
Crassula capitella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Crassulaceae
Genus:	Crassula
Species:	C. capitella
Binomial name
Crassula capitella Thunb., 1778[1]

Description

An extremely variable species. The narrow, pointed, splayed ("propeller-like"[2]) leaves are initially a light green, but become a strong reddish colour in the sun.[3]

The leaves are stacked, and near the base of the rosette they are larger. Near the top of a rosette, the leaves gradually get smaller and change into floral bracts, as the stem forms a long, pointed inflorescence.[4]

It is a small, succulent herb (15-40 cm in height) - with stems that are either erect or rambling and mat-forming. Each stem forms roots at its internodes, which take root if the stem lies against the ground.

C.capitella is mostly biennial, blooming in the summer, with small, white, star-shaped flowers forming all around each thick, upright stem. [1][5] It grows to a height of about 6 inches tall, and will be damaged when exposed to temperatures below 30 °F (−1 °C).[5]

Cultivation

Crassula capitella prefer full sun to partial shade, average watering needs, and shouldn't be exposed to temperatures below 30 °F (−1 °C).[5][6] It may suffer from foliage edema, which may be the result of rapid changes in moisture.[5]

Distribution

Crassula capitella is native to southern Africa; it is found in Transvaal, Free State, Eastern Cape, and in some parts of southern Namibia and Botswana.[1]

Subspecies

• Crassula capitella subsp. capitella: biennial basal rosette with smooth (hairless) stems and unbranched spike inflorescence.[1]
• Crassula capitella subsp. enantiophylla[1]
• Crassula capitella subsp. meyeri: a decumbent subspecies from the sandy coastline of KwaZulu-Natal[1]
• Crassula capitella subsp. nodulosa: a perennial shrub with one or two rosettes on hairy stems.[1]
• Crassula capitella subsp. sessilicymula: a perennial shrub (40cm) with a woody trunk and branched inflorescence.[1]
• Crassula capitella subsp. thyrsiflora: a perennial shrub with multiple pinkish-red rosettes, that become stacked in a pagoda form ("red pagoda") and an unbranched spike inflorescence. From the Western Cape Province[1]
• Crassula capitella subsp. corymbulosa[7].

References

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