The leaves of Crassula atropurpurea live up to their specific name here. The Latin specific epithet atropurpurea means dark purple, the colour generally seen on these plants during the hot summer months. The purple flush may at other times be absent, the leaf colour quite variable.

The leaf centre bulges with succulence, its outline smoothly obovate. The leaves are erect on short, branched stems also more or less erect.

This plant was seen in the Little Karoo. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (www.plantzafrica.com; www.redlist.sanbi.org).