''Sedum albomarginatum'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the family

Crassulaceae The Crassulaceae (from Latin ''crassus'', thick), also known as the stonecrop family or the orpine family, are a diverse family of dicotyledon flowering plants characterized by succulent leaves and a unique form of photosynthesis, known as Cr ...

known by the common name Feather River stonecrop. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

where it is known from fewer than 20 occurrences along the

Feather River The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is just over . The main stem Feather R ...

in Plumas and Butte Counties.The Nature Conservancy
/ref> It grows on steep cliffs and mountain slopes in rocky serpentine substrates.

Description

''Sedum albomarginatum'' is a small perennial

succulent plant In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

forming basal rosettes a few centimeters wide from a woody root system. The leaves are up to 7 cm long with the widest part near the distal end. The tip is rounded or slightly notched. Flowering shoots have smaller, oblanceolate leaves. The leaves are hairless, waxy, and blue-green in color. Young leaves often have characteristic white edges where the wax is thickest, but the wax wears off with time.Flora of North America
/ref> The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

is a spreading array of many flowers with light yellow petals up to a centimeter long each. Threats to this rare ''Sedum'' species include

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...

on the steep terrain where it grows, as well as

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

and construction.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Sedum albomarginatum''USDA Plants Profile; Sedum albomarginatum''Sedum albomarginatum'' - Photo gallery
albomarginatum Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Plants described in 1975 Feather River Natural history of Plumas County, California {{Crassulaceae-stub