Crassula tetragona

Scientific name

This is a very useful neat garden shrub with interesting texture that can form a low border, hedge or fill. Useful as a pioneer plant when first establishing your garden. It propagates really easily as every part of the shrub that breaks off is potentially a new plant. Replace every few years.

This plant is widely distributed from the Orange River in Namaqualand to Kei River in Eastern Cape, but the six subspecies occur in geographically separate areas. Further research needed to see if these plants occur in Cape Town area.

The species are used ornamantally in bonsais, and there are historical records of the plant being used for the treatment of diarrhoea.