Crassula 'Platyphylla' is a horticultural name applied somewhat loosely in the trade to flat-leaved Crassulas related to Crassula streyi Tölken and to forms of Crassula sarmentosa. The name epithet means "flat-leaved" and is descriptive rather than taxonomically precise; plants sold under this label are always Crassulas with broad flattened leaves, but the underlying species identity varies by source.
Part of the Complete Crassula Guide.
Identification
- Leaves. Broadly ovate to elliptic, 2–5 cm long and nearly as wide, flat and spreading rather than thickened into a keel. Colour glossy green, often with a reddish margin and reddish-purple underside; in strong light the whole leaf develops a bronze cast.
- Stems. Semi-trailing, lax, branching freely. Plants tend to sprawl over the edge of a pot rather than growing upright.
- Flowers. Small cream-white five-petalled stars in loose clusters, produced in summer on mature stems. Not the main ornamental feature.
- Habit. Spreading and trailing, suited to hanging pots or as a skirt in a mixed-succulent arrangement.
The plant is often sold alongside C. sarmentosa and C. ovata 'Ruby' in mixed dish gardens, and the three are easy to confuse. 'Platyphylla' has flatter, broader leaves than C. sarmentosa and a more sprawling habit than C. ovata 'Ruby'.
Cultivation
Care follows the pillar defaults. Treat the plant as you would a common C. ovata or C. sarmentosa: bright light, gritty substrate, water when the top 3–4 cm dries, minimum 5 °C.
Light: the red margin and purple undersides only develop in strong direct light. In lower light the plant grows fine but stays all green.
Substrate: standard pillar mix; tolerates a slightly more retentive substrate than the smaller miniatures.
Water and temperature: standard pillar defaults.
Propagation
Stem cuttings are the standard approach. The trailing stems root readily from any node in contact with damp gritty substrate, and mature plants often self-layer along the pot edge. Cut below a rooted node, pot up, and the cutting continues without interruption.
Leaf propagation works but is slow for the broad leaves; most propagators use stem cuttings.
Notes and Quirks
The name Crassula 'Platyphylla' has been applied over the years to at least three different entities: a C. streyi selection, a flat-leaved form of C. sarmentosa, and occasionally to variegated C. ovata cultivars. If you want specific stock, ask the seller which of the three they are selling; garden-centre labelling is not always reliable.
In mixed-succulent dish gardens this plant is useful as a skirt or spiller because its sprawling habit tolerates the rooting competition of neighbouring plants better than many Crassulas do.