Crassula expansa subsp. expansa flowers

Pink petal tips are the first impression conveyed by the flowers of this Little Karoo resident called Crassula expansa subsp. expansa. The short-stalked flowers are produced in stem-tip clusters.

Each small, star-shaped, white or partly pink flower has five spreading petals. Below them five shorter, green or red and fleshy sepal tips are visible, often overlooked in Crassula.

On the inside of the flower the five stamens end in yellow anthers like candles, although angled. The stamens spread around the five compact carpels which make up the ovary. This constitutes the inner, fourth ring of floral parts, positioned in the flower base. The corolla diameter is about 3 mm.

These plants flower mainly in summer, also after rain (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Smith, et al, 2017; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist).