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 campanulata, commonly known as Skilpadkos in Afrikaans is an evergreen indigenous succulent from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Tall flower stems shoot up in late spring from which yellow flowers hang like little bells, except the petals are splayed wide open. The foliage bears a resemblance to fingers and is light grey-green in colour. These are covered with fine hairs and have a red crease at each tip. It grows to about 15cm in height with a spread of up to 25cm. They are well suited to rockeries and pots.