‖ ˈCrassula Bot.
[med.L. Crassula, dim. of crassa (sc. herba) thick: see crass.]
A name applied by the mediæval herbalists to some species of Sedum, esp. Orpine; but now limited (by Dillenius) to a genus of succulent plants, chiefly South African, the type of the family Crassulaceæ, which includes the Stonecrops, Houseleeks, Echeveria, etc.
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 331 Crassula major is a good repercussif for cool mater. 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. iii. xxii. 400 Orpine. Crassula is a good wound herb. 1885 W. Greswell in Macm. Mag. Feb. 279/2 Heaths, orchids, crassulæ, and wild geraniums. |
Hence crassuˈlaceous a. Bot., of the family Crassulaceæ, of which Crassula is the type.