Crassula ovata Gollum

English names: Gollum jade/Trumpet jade

Latin name: Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’

Family: Orpine/stonecrop - Crassulaceae

Origin: Under cultivation at the Palm House

The Gollum or trumpet jade is a succulent which grows up to 4 metres in height in natural conditions. The fleshy leaves grow in opposing pairs, are glossy and have a jade green colour; in the Gollum cultivar they are oblong and tubular, with concave tips. Its tiny flowers, white or green, appearing in fivefold symmetry. Only in older specimens do they appear at the ends of the shoots, in the autumn and winter periods. The gollum jade is a very popular potted plant; in Poland and elsewhere, it is commonly called “the lucky” plant. It is often confused with the silver dollar plant (crassula arborescens), which is much less often found under cultivation.  The silver dollar plant has a similar habit, but differs in the round and not oval shape of its leaves, which are silver-blue in colour and not glossy.