PlantMap
← Back to list

Crassula ovata (Mill.) Druce

Jade plant

Native records: 3 botanical areas

Cape Provinces, Mozambique, KwaZulu-Natal

See all areas

Natural distribution

Explore map
NativeIntroducedUncertain

Distribution is shown as WGSRPD Level 3 areas. It does not imply the species occurs throughout an entire area.

Last updated:

Distribution last verified:

See sources

Photograph of Crassula ovata

A succulent subshrub in the family Crassulaceae, with thick, glossy, oval leaves. Native to southern Africa (Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa and Mozambique), it is widely cultivated worldwide as a tough, drought-tolerant houseplant.

Description

An evergreen succulent subshrub or small shrub that develops a thick, fleshy trunk and branches with age. Stems are reddish when young, becoming woody and bark-like on older growth. Leaves are opposite, fleshy, oval to rounded, glossy green, often with a reddish margin. Clusters of small, star-shaped white to pale pink flowers appear at branch tips in winter to early spring. Widely known as the jade plant, money tree, lucky plant, or friendship tree in cultivation.

Habitat

Native to dry, rocky areas and thicket vegetation from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa into southern Mozambique. Grows in regions with warm to hot summers and mild winters, in well-drained sandy or gravelly soils.

Distribution areas

  • Andorra

    • SpainIntroduced

  • Gibraltar

    • SpainIntroduced

  • Mozambique

    • MozambiqueNative

  • Portugal

    • MadeiraIntroduced
    • PortugalIntroduced

  • Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

    • St.HelenaIntroduced

  • South Africa

    • Cape ProvincesNative
    • KwaZulu-NatalNative

  • Spain

    • Canary Is.Introduced
    • SpainIntroduced

  • United States of America

    • CaliforniaIntroduced

Climate of the native range

The Köppen climate classes found in the areas this plant is recorded as native to. It does not mean an entire area has that climate.

  • Aw Tropical, savannah
  • Cwb Temperate, dry winter, warm summer
  • BWh Arid, desert, hot
  • BSk Arid, steppe, cold
  • Cfa Temperate, no dry season, hot summer
  • BSh Arid, steppe, hot
  • BWk Arid, desert, cold
  • Cfb Temperate, no dry season, warm summer

The same climate occurs in 174 areas worldwide, 170 of which have no record of this plant. See them on the map

A matching climate does not mean the plant can grow there. Range limits are also set by things other than climate — dispersal history, soils, competition. Source: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0 (observed period 1991–2020).

Recorded medicinal uses

The cited source records medicinal use of this plant. It is not an assessment of efficacy or safety.

  • Crassula ovata is recorded as used medicinally.

    Source location: p.643, right column, line 16

    World Checklist of Useful Plant Species · Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) · CC BY 4.0 · source version: wcups-2020-62602715

    Open source

Other names

Jade plant、Friendship tree、Lucky plant、Money plant、Money tree

Family
Crassulaceae
Genus
Crassula

Other species in Crassula

Sources

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Andorra · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Spain · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Gibraltar · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Mozambique · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Portugal · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    United States of America · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

  • World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), version 2026-06-04

    South Africa · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew · wcvp_distribution.csv

    Open source

Image information