Crassulaceae

The Crassulaceae (, from Latin crassus, thick), also known as the crassulas, the stonecrops or the orpine family, are a diverse family of flowering plants primarily characterized by succulent leaves and a form of photosynthesis known as crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), in which plants photosynthesize in the daytime and exchange gases during the cooler temperatures of the night. The blossoms of crassulas generally have five floral parts. Crassulaceae are usually herbaceous, though there are some subshrubs, and relatively few trees or aquatic plants. The Crassulaceae is a medium-sized family in the core eudicots clade, along with the order Saxifragales, whose diversity has made infrafamilial classification very difficult. The family includes approximately 1,400 species and 34–35 genera—depending on the circumscription of the genus Sedum—distributed over three subfamilies. Members of the Crassulaceae are found worldwide, though are mostly concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere and Sou......read more on Wikipedia.