Cotyledon is a genus of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae. Mostly from Southern Africa, they also occur throughout the drier parts of Africa as far north as the Arabian Peninsula. Members of the genus are shrublets, generally succulent, with fleshily woody, brittle stems and persistent succulent leaves. The leaves are opposite. Leaf pairs generally are oriented at 90 degrees to their preceding and following pairs, as is common in the family Crassulaceae, but the leaf habit differs from say Tylecodon (in which the leaves are borne in spirals and are deciduous). Most plants in the genus, and those that used to be included in the genus Cotyledon, are poisonous, even dangerously so. Some have been implicated in stock losses among goats, pigs and poultry. However, many species have long been used in traditional medicine. They have been applied for many purposes, ranging from magic charms to removal of corns.

Cotyledon woodii is suitable as an interesting succulent shrub for containers or rockeries, with its bold, orange, bird-pollinated flowers. This cotyledon is suitable for rockery plantings or containers. Cotyledon woodii is a much-branched, succulent shrub, up to 1.2 m tall. Erect branches are succulent and green initially, slightly woody with maturity. Light grey-green leaves are flat, hairless and obovate, rarely sticky with glandular hairs. Solitary, orange to red flowers attract birds and are presented on a terminal, short, inflorescence stalk, from December to April, with sporadic flowering year round.