Jade varieties

9 years ago

I’m going to do my best to formulate this question in a way that makes sense and I’m asking purely out of curiosity.

So ‘regular’ Jade is Crassula ovata, but then there’s tricolour and variegated varieties as well but then there’s also Lemon n’ Lime and more I’m sure I don’t know about.

I guess I’m wondering what actually makes them different? Instead of just calling them all by one name

I have a Crassula ovata, Lemon n’ Lime and a piece of Mikes mother Jade and while I can obviously tell they aren’t the same, generally no two plants are the same anyway.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read and maybe answer my question in advance!

Featured Answer

woodnative

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Crassula is the genus, ovata the species. Yes all the ones you mentioned in your original question are Crassula ovata. Things like 'Lemon Lime', etc. are cultivar names. Cultivar is an abbreviation for "cultivated variety". The cultivar name is supposed to be written in single quotes (Crassula ovata 'Lemon and Lime') although you may see it without the quotes. There is varietion in any population of plants (or animals) but some characteristic(s) is/are unique or different and desirable from the normal wild type so somebody gave it a cultivar name. This is true with most plants. Apples are Malus domestica but someone grew an apple with outstanding, yellow fruit and named it 'Yellow Delicious'. 'Yellow Delicious' is the cultivar, and differentiates it from a 'McIntosh' or 'Granny Smith' apple or an apple grown from an apple seed. To maintain that cultivar and its unique characteristics the plant usually has to be propagated vegetatively. Branches from a yellow delicious are grafted on new rootstock to grow more 'Yellow Delicious' apple trees. If you grow seeds from a 'Golden Delicious' apple you may or may not get some good tasting yellow apples but they won't be 'Golden Delicious' as they won't be exactly like the parent cultivar. Jades are not normally propagated from seed. A cutting from a 'Red Horn Tree' jade plant will be and grow into a 'Red Horn Tree'. Variegation adds a little complexity to the whole thing. Somebody found a nice variegated jade and named it 'Lemon and Lime'. If you take a variegated cutting it will be a 'Lemon and Lime' too. However sometimes these variegated plants will grow an albino or green shoot. If you cut one of these green shoots and root it the new plant will be green and no longer can be called 'Lemon and Lime' as it is a reversion to normal type. If you have a regular green (C. ovata) jade and it one day sports a variegated branch you find attractive you may spread it around and name it 'CasualSweater's Wonder'. It may or may not be different than 'Lemon and Lime' and you would probably have to grow the two side by side for a while to see if there was a differing characteristic. Also cultivar names can be official but sometimes folks will throw a different name on it that may not be correct........this is especially trure with unscrupulous (or just ignorant) ebay sellers. More confused? LOL!

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Comments (6)

marguerite_gw Zone 9a
9 years ago
I find the types of jade like Maruba Nishiki, Tricolor, Solana, Denethor, Curly Bluebird, Blue Hale, Hummel's Sunset and so on, easy to distinguish one from the other, but from photos, Lemon'nLime and various other types of Crassula ovata variegata all confuse me, their various leaves throw up so many variations; I don't have all these, but from photos Akai jade, Hummel's Ghost, and other ovatas look very similar; I thought I could tell by stem colour, but even Hummel's Ghost, which I do have, can have red stems like Hummel's Sunset, or not, or else I have been sold some under the wrong name, not impossible. I find I can identify easily enough Mike's Mother jade, the variegation tends to stay lemon-yellow and also remains confined to the leaf edge, but with other variegated ovatas the variegation seems quite random, the variegation appears on different parts of the leaf, some are almost totally yellow even. I'm not sure if this is answering your question....:)
CasualSweater thanked marguerite_gw Zone 9a
CasualSweater
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks! I’m not sure if it answers my question either haha, it’s not that I have a hard time distinguishing which is which per se. I think I’m mostly wondering what the difference is between tricolour and variegated and then how they differ from say Lemon n’ Lime or Maruba?
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marguerite_gw Zone 9a
9 years ago
CasualSweater, I think the simplest way to answer the question is to go to the search box, above, and put in the various different variety names, and then find the threads listed and view the different types.
CasualSweater thanked marguerite_gw Zone 9a
CasualSweater
Original Author
9 years ago
Woodnative, that actually helped a lot! I think that’s the best answer I’ll find, thank you
Helen Agius (Adelaide,Sth Aus) USDA Z10b
9 years ago
Wood native. I've been trying to sort out Jades too, and what a great answer! Now I can carry on my "sorting out" with a clear head.

Marguerite, sometimes I forget I can search in here, although doing it more often now, so when I want to understand a particular cultivar/type/variety I'll try that first.
CasualSweater thanked Helen Agius (Adelaide,Sth Aus) USDA Z10b