Crassula tetragona
Miniature or chinese pine-tree, Miniature Or Chinese Pine-Tree
(c) kevin koen, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Crassulaceae · Type: Shrub · Not Native
Crassula tetragona (Miniature or chinese pine-tree) is a non-native California shrub in the Crassulaceae family, recognized by subshrub form and cylindrical needle-like leaves diagnostic.
Miniature pine-tree is a naturalized shrub found in coastal California, including the Central Coast, Southern Coast, and San Gabriel Mountains, persisting in urban interfaces and disturbed sites at elevations below 400 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces small cream to white flowers in flat-topped terminal clusters with delicate, narrow-deltate petals. Growing with erect stems 30 to 50 centimeters tall and 1 to 5 millimeters in diameter, it develops a distinctive subshrub form with multiple branches. Its leaves are pale green, linear to narrow-triangular, approximately cylindrical, and arranged in more than 4 pairs along the stem, each measuring 10 to 30 millimeters long with a small sharp tip. The fruit develops as an erect, ovoid structure containing 6 to 10 small elliptical seeds with faintly textured surfaces.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 7 sympatric species; subshrub form and cylindrical needle-like leaves diagnostic
Habitat and range
Habitat: Persisting from cultivation and at dump sites, wildland-urban interface
Elevation: < 400 m
Outside California: native to southern Africa
Bloom period
Crassula tetragona blooms Jun-Sep.
How to tell it apart
vs Sedum: Sedum leaves are alternate or scattered; Crassula leaves are strictly opposite with fused bases.; vs Cotyledon: Cotyledon has large, fleshy leaves without fused bases; Crassula leaves clasp stem with fused bases.; vs Aeonium: Aeonium forms rosettes with many leaves per node; Crassula has two opposite leaves per node.; vs Kalanchoe: Kalanchoe has clusters of showy flowers; Crassula has tiny single flowers in leaf joints.; vs Portulacaria: Portulacaria has round, flat leaves on woody stems; Crassula has succulent opposite clasping leaves.
Frequently asked questions
Is Crassula tetragona native to California?
No. Crassula tetragona is not native to California (recorded as not native).
When does Crassula tetragona bloom?
Crassula tetragona blooms Jun-Sep.
What plant family does Crassula tetragona belong to?
Crassula tetragona is in the Crassulaceae family, genus Crassula.
What habitat does Crassula tetragona grow in?
Crassula tetragona grows in Persisting from cultivation and at dump sites, wildland-urban interface.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Crassula tillaea — Mediterranean pygmy weed
- Crassula aquatica — Aquatic pygmy weed
- Crassula colligata subsp. lamprosperma
- Crassula connata — Pygmy-weed
- Crassula multicava subsp. multicava — Fairy crassula
- Crassula ovata — Jade plant
- Crassulaceae sp. — Stonecrop family
- Dudleya abramsii — Abrams' dudleya
- Dudleya abramsii subsp. abramsii
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-09-30
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.