''Sedum obtusatum'' is a 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 Sierra stonecrop. It is native to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

and adjacent high mountain ranges of

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 ...

, its distribution extending north into

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

and east into

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. It grows in rocky mountain habitat.

Description

It is a

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 of waxy leaves. The leaves are oval or spoon shaped and up to 3 centimeters long, with smaller ones occurring farther up the stem. The leaves are green to blue green to red tinged or all red. 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 an erect, sometimes flat-topped array of many flowers. The flowers have white petals tinged with green, yellow, or orange. It typically blooms from May to June. Though it is not an obligatory host, it is described as a beneficial organism for the ''

Euptoieta claudia ''Euptoieta claudia'', the variegated fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the variegated fritillary has some very different characteristics from the ''Speyeria'' fritillaries, it is still cl ...

'' butterfly.

Variety

One variety of this species, var. ''paradisum'', is a very rare plant limited to the

Trinity Mountains The Trinity Mountains are a subrange of the Klamath Mountains, one of the ranges within the California Coast Ranges and part the greater Pacific Coast Ranges, the coastal mountain system extending from Mexico to Alaska. The Trinity Mountains subra ...

of California; it is sometimes treated as a species in its own right, the Canyon Creek stonecrop (''Sedum paradisum'').Flora of North America: var. ''paradisum''
/ref>

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
obtusatum Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Nevada Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) ~ Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Crassulaceae-stub