''Sedum'' is a large

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Crassulaceae The Crassulaceae (, from Latin ''crassus'', thick), also known as the crassulas, the stonecrops or the orpine family, are a diverse Family (biology), family of dicotyledon angiosperms primarily characterized by succulent leaves and a form of phot ...

, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf

succulents 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'', meanin ...

found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, but extending into the southern hemisphere in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The plants vary from

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

and creeping

herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s. The plants have water-storing leaves. The flowers usually have five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s, seldom four or six. There are typically twice as many

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s as petals. Various species formerly classified as ''Sedum'' are now in the segregate genera '' Hylotelephium'' and ''

Rhodiola ''Rhodiola'' is a genus of perennial plants in the family Crassulaceae that resemble '' Sedum'' and other members of the family. Like sedums, ''Rhodiola'' species are often called stonecrops. Some authors merge ''Rhodiola'' into ''Sedum''. ' ...

''. Well-known European species of ''Sedum'' are ''

Sedum acre ''Sedum acre'', commonly known as the goldmoss stonecrop, mossy stonecrop, goldmoss sedum, biting stonecrop, and wallpepper, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is native to Europe, northern and western Asia and North A ...

'', '' Sedum album'', '' Sedum dasyphyllum'', and '' Sedum hispanicum''.

Description

''Sedum'' is a genus that includes

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and t ...

, and

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

. They are characterised by

succulent 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 ...

leaves and stems. The extent of morphological diversity and

homoplasy Homoplasy, in biology and phylogenetics, is the term used to describe a feature that has been gained or lost independently in separate lineages over the course of evolution. This is different from homology, which is the term used to characterize ...

make it impossible to characterise ''Sedum'' phenotypicaly.

Taxonomy

''Sedum'' was first formally described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753, with 15 species. Of the

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

encompassed by the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, ''Sedum'' is the most species rich, the most morphologically diverse and most complex

taxonomically In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon), and these groups are given ...

. Historically, it was placed in the subfamily Sedoideae, of which it was the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

. Of the three modern subfamilies of the Crassulaceae, based on

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

, ''Sedum'' is placed in the subfamily Sempervivoideae. Although the genus has been greatly reduced, from about 600 to 420–470 species, by forming up to 32 segregate genera, it still constitutes a third of the family and is

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

. ''Sedum'' species are found in four of six major

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

clades In biology, a clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy ...

within subfamily Sempervivoideae of Crassulaceae and are allocated to

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, as follows: In addition, at least nine other distinct genera appear to be nested within ''Sedum''. However, the number of species found outside of the first two clades (Tribe Sedeae) are only a small fraction of the whole genus. Therefore the current

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: * Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthr ...

, which is somewhat artificial and catch-all must be considered unstable. The relationships between the tribes of Sempervivoideae is shown in the

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

. There are now thought to be approximately 55 European species in the genus. ''Sedum'' demonstrates a wide variation in

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

numbers, and

polyploidy Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

is common. Chromosome number is considered an important taxonomic feature. Earlier authors placed a number of ''Sedum'' species outside of these clades, such as '' S. spurium'', '' S. stellatum'' and '' S. kamtschaticum'' (Telephium clade), that has been segregated into ''

Phedimus ''Phedimus'' is a genus of the succulent family Crassulaceae (stonecrop family), with about 18 species, distributed in eastern Europe and Asia. The genus is described with two subgenera, but one of these is also recognized as a separate genus, '' ...

'' (tribe Umbiliceae). Given the substantial taxonomic challenges presented by this highly polyphyletic genus, a number of radical solutions have been proposed for what is described as the "Sedum problem", all of which would require a substantial number of new combinations within Sempervivoideae. Nikulin and colleagues (2016) have recommended that, given the

monophyly In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent comm ...

of Aeonieae and Semperviveae, species of ''Sedum'' outside of the tribe Sedeae (all in subgenus ''Gormania'') be removed from the genus and reallocated. However, this does not resolve the problem of other genera embedded within ''Sedum'', in Sedeae. In the largest published phylogenetic study (2020), the authors propose placing all taxa within Sedeae in genus ''Sedum'', and transferring all other Sedum species in the remaining Sempervivoideae clades to other genera. This expanded ''Sedum'' ''s.l.'' would comprise about 755 species.

Subdivision

Linnaeus originally described 15 species, characterised by pentamerous flowers, dividing them into two groups; Planifolia and Teretifolia, based on leaf morphology, with 15

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, and hence bears his name as the

botanical authority In botanical nomenclature, author citation is the way of citing the person or group of people who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the ''International Cod ...

(L.). By 1828, de Candolle recognized 88 species in six informal groups. Various attempts have been made to subdivide this large genus, in addition to segregating separate genera, including creation of informal groups, sections, series and subgenera. For an extensive history of subfamily Sedoideae, see .

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

(1821) divided the 13 species known in Britain at that time into five sections; ''Rhodiola'', ''Telephium'', ''Sedum'', (unnamed) and ''Aizoon''. In 1921, Praeger established ten sections; ''Rhodiola'', ''Pseudorhodiola'', ''Giraldiina'', ''Telephium'', ''Aizoon'', ''Mexicana'', ''Seda Genuina'', ''Sempervivoides'', ''Epeteium'' and ''Telmissa''. This was later revised in what is the best known system, that of

Berger Berger is a surname in both German language, German and French language, French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergi ...

(1930), who defined 22 subdivisions, which he called ''Reihe'' (sections or series). Berger's sections were: * ''Rhodiola'' * ''Pseudorhodiola'' * ''Telephium'' * ''Sedastrum'' * ''Hasseanthus'' * ''Lenophyllopsis'' * ''Populisedum'' * ''Graptopetalum'' * ''Monanthella'' * ''Perrierosedum'' * ''Pachysedum'' * ''Dendrosedum'' * ''Fruticisedum'' * ''Leptosedum'' * ''Afrosedum'' * ''Aizoon'' * ''Seda genuina'' * ''Prometheum'' * ''Cyprosedum'' * ''Epeteium'' * ''Sedella'' * ''Telmissa'' A number of these, he further subdivided. In contrast, Fröderströmm (1935) adopted a much broader circumscription of the genus, accepting only ''Sedum'' and ''Pseudosedum'' within the Sedoideae, dividing the former into 9 sections. Although this was followed by numerous other systems, the most widely accepted infrageneric classification following Berger, was by Ohba (1978). Prior to this, most species in Sedoideae were placed in genus ''Sedum''. Of these systems, it was observed "No really satisfactory basis for the division of the family into genera has yet been proposed". Some other authors have added other series, and combined some of the series into groups, such as sections. In particular, ''Sedum'' section ''Sedum'' is divided into series (see

Clades In biology, a clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach to taxonomy ...

) More recently, two subgenera have been recognised, ''Gormania'' and ''Sedum''. * ''Gormania'': (Britton) Clausen. 110 species from Sempervivum, Aeonium and Leucosedum clades. Europe and North America. * ''Sedum'': 320 species from Acre clade. Temperate and subtropical zones of Northern hemisphere (Asia and the Americas). Subgenus ''Sedum'' has been considered as three geographically distinct, but equal sized sections: * ''S.'' sect. ''Sedum'' ca. 120 spp. native to Europe, Asia Minor and N. Africa, ranging from N. Africa to central Scandinavia and from Iceland to the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus and Iran. * ''S.'' sect. ''Americana'' Frod. * ''S.'' sect. ''Asiatica'' Frod. ''S.'' sect. ''Sedum'' includes 54 species native to Europe, which Berger classified into 27 series.

Clades

Species and series include

=Subgenus ''Gormania''

Semperviveae

* ''S''. series ''Rupestria'' (Eurasia) ** '' S. rupestre'' L. * ''S. armenum''

Boiss. Pierre Edmond Boissier (25 May 1810 Geneva – 25 September 1885 Valeyres-sous-Rances) was a Switzerland, Swiss prominent botanist, explorer and mathematician. He was the son of Jacques Boissier (1784-1857) and Caroline Butini (1786-1836), daugh ...

& A.Huet * ''S. assyriacum''

(Near East) * ''S. mooneyi'' M.Gilbert (NE Africa) * '' S. sediforme'' ( Jacq.) Pau Of about 80 Eurasian species, series ''Rupestria'' forms a distinct monophyletic group of about ten

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

, which some authors have considered a separate genus, ''Petrosedum''. It was series 20 in Berger's classification. Native to Europe it has escaped cultivation and become naturalized in North America.

Aeonieae (N Africa)

* ''S.'' series ''Pubescens'' ** ''S. pubescens'' Vahl * ''S.'' series ''Caerulea'' ** '' S. caeruleum'' * ''S. jaccardianum'' Maire & Wilczek * ''S.'' series ''Monanthoidea'' ** ''Monanthes atlantica'' J.Ball (=''S. surculosum'' Coss.) * ''S. modestum''

Embedded within series ''Monanthoidea'' are three Macaronesian segregate genera, ''

Aichryson ''Aichryson'' is a genus of 16 species of succulent, subtropical plants, native to the Canary Islands, Azores, and Madeira. The species of ''Aichryson'' are not frost-resistant. They are related to ''Sempervivum, Jovibarba, Greenovia, Aeonium' ...

'', ''

Monanthes ''Monanthes'' is a genus of small, succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae. Most species in the genus are endemic to the Canary Islands, with one species also endemic to the Savage Islands and another to the High Atlas mountains ...

'' and ''

Aeonium ''Aeonium'', the tree houseleeks, is a genus of about 35 species of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae. Many species are popular in horticulture. The genus name comes from the ancient Greek αἰώνιος / aiōnios (ageles ...

''.

Sedeae - Leucosedum (Europe/Mediterranean/Near East/Central Asia)

* ''S.'' series ''Aithales'' (Med) ** ''S. pallidum''

M.Bieb. Baron Friedrich August Marschall von Bieberstein (30 July 1768 – 28 June 1826) was an early explorer of the flora and archeology of the southern portion of Imperial Russia, including the Caucasus and Novorossiya. He compiled the first comprehen ...

* ''S.'' series ''Alba'' (Med) ** '' S. album'' L. ** ''S. gracile'' C.A.Mey. ** ''S. magellense'' Ten. * ''S.'' series ''Alsinefolia'' All. (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Atrata'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Brevifolia'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Cepaea'' (Med) * ''S. commixtum'' Moran & Hutchison * ''S.'' series ''Convertifolia'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Dasyphylla'' (Med) ** '' S. dasyphyllum'' L. * ''S.'' series ''Glauco-rubens'' (Med) ** '' S. hispanicum'' L. * ''S.'' series ''Gracile'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Hirsuta'' (Med) ** ''S. hirsutum'' All. In the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

, one species of this succulent (''S. microcarpum'') covers the stony ground like a carpet where the soil is shallow, growing no higher than 5–10 cm. At first, the fleshy leaves are a light green, but as the season progresses, the fleshy leaves turn red.

Europe/Mediterranean/Near East/Central Asia

* ''Sedum'' series ''Inconspicua'' (Med) * ''S. ince'' 't Hart & Alpinar * ''S. lydium''

* '' S. microcarpum'' (

Sm. Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He started studying botan ...

)

Schönland Selmar Schonland (15 August 1860 – 22 April 1940), originally spelt ''Schönland'', the founder of the Department of Botany at Rhodes University, was a German immigrant, who came to the Eastern part of the Cape Colony in 1889 to take up an app ...

* ''S.'' series ''Monregalense'' (Med) * '' S. moranii'' R.T.Clausen * ''S.'' series ''Nana'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Pedicellata'' (Med) * ''S. sedoides'' ( Jacquem. ex

Decne. Joseph Decaisne (7 March 1807 – 8 January 1882) was a French botanist and agronomist. He became an ''aide-naturaliste'' to Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (1797–1853), who served as the chair of rural botany. It was during this time that he began to s ...

) Pau * ''S.'' series ''Steico'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Subrosea'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Subulata'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Telmissa'' (Med) * ''S.'' series ''Tenella'' (Med) * Med = Mediterranean distribution Embedded within the Leucosedum clade are the following genera: '' Rosularia'', '' Prometheum'', '' Sedella'' and ''

Dudleya ''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers, is a genus of rosette-forming succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in many forms, so ...

''. ''Rosularia'' is paraphyletic, and some ''Sedum'' species, such as '' S. sempervivoides'' Fischer ex M. Bieberstein are assigned by some authors to ''Rosularia'', as ''R. sempervivoides'' (Fischer ex M. Bieberstein) Boriss.

=Subgenus ''Sedum''

Sedeae - Acre (Asia/Europe/Macaronesia/N. America)

* ''S.'' series ''Alpestria''

** ''S. alpestre'' Vill. (Europe) * ''S.'' series ''Acria'' ** '' S. acre'' L. (Europe) * ''S. bourgaei'' Hemsl. (Mexico) * ''S. bulbiferum''

Makino , commonly known as Makino, is a machine tool builder with global sales and service, headquartered in Japan. History Makino was established in 1937 by Tsunezo Makino in Japan, developing Japan's first numerically controlled (NC) milling machi ...

(Asia) * ''S. burito'' Moran (Mexico) * ''S. cockerellii'' Britton (N. America) * '' S. dendroideum'' Moc. & Sessé ex DC. (Mexico) * ''S. farinosum'' Lowe (Macaronesia) * ''S. furfuraceum'' Moran (N. America) * ''S. fusiforme'' Lowe (Macaronesia) * ''S. hakonense'' Makino (Asia) * ''S. hemsleanum'' Rose (N. America) * ''S. japonicum''

Siebold Siebold or von Siebold is a German language, German surname. It is a patronymic surname derived from the given name Siebold, which consists of the Old High German words ''sigu'' ("Victory") and ''bold'' ("strong"). Notable people with the surname ...

ex Miq. (Asia) * ''S. laconicum''

& Heldr. (Mediterranean) * '' S. lineare'' Thunb. ( syn. ''S. subtile'') (Asia) * ''S. litoreum'' Guss. (Europe) * ''S.'' series ''Macaronesica'' (Macaronesia) * ''S. makinoi''

Maxim. Carl Johann Maximovich, also Karl Ivanovich Maximovich (Russian: Карл Иванович Максимович; 23 November 1827 – 16 February 1891) was a Russian botanist. Maximovich spent most of his life studying the flora of the countries ...

(Asia) * ''S. meyeri-johannis''

Engl. Engl or Engl. may refer to: *England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more ...

(Africa) * '' S. mexicanum'' Britton (Asia) * ''S. morrisonense'' Hayata (Asia) * ''S. multicaule'' Wall. ex Lindl. (Asia) * '' S. multiceps'' Coss. & Durieu (Europe, N Africa, S America) * ''S. nudum'' Aiton (Macaronesia) * '' S. oaxacanum''

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

(N. America) * ''S. obcordatum'' R.T. Clausen (N. America) * ''S. oreades'' (

) Raym.-Hamet (Asia) * ''S. oryzifolium'' Makino (Asia) * ''S.'' section ''Pachysedum'' (N. America) * ''S. plumbizincicola'' X.H.Guo & S.B.Zhou ex L.H.Wu (China) * ''S. polytrichoides'' Hemsl. (Asia) * ''S. reptans'' R.T.Clausen (Mexico) * '' S. rubrotinctum'' R.T. Clausen (Americas, Australasia) * '' S. sarmentosum'' Bunge (Asia) * '' S. sexangulare'' L. (Europe) * '' S. ternatum'' Michx. (N. America) * ''S. tosaense'' Makino (Asia) * ''S. triactina'' A.Berger (Asia) * ''S. trullipetalum'' Hook.f. &

Thomson Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson M ...

(Asia) * ''S. urvillei'' DC. (Mediterranean) * ''S. yabeanum'' Makino (Asia) * ''S. zentaro-tashiroi'' Makino (Asia) Embedded within the Acre clade are the following genera: '' Villadia'', '' Lenophyllum'', ''

Graptopetalum ''Graptopetalum'' (leatherpetal) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae. They are perennial plant, perennial succulent plants and native to Mexico and Arizona. They grow usually in a rosette (botany), rosette. There are around ...

'', '' Thompsonella'', ''

Echeveria ''Echeveria'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Crassulaceae, native plant, native to semi-desert areas of Central America, Mexico and northwestern South America. Description Echeveria plants are evergreen. Flo ...

'' and ''

Pachyphytum ''Pachyphytum'' is a small genus of Succulent plant, succulents in the Sedum, stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, native to Mexico, where species can be found growing at elevations from above sea level. The generic name comes from the ancient Greek ...

''. The species within Acre, can be broadly grouped into two subclades, American/European and Asian.

List of selected species

*''

'' L. – wall-pepper, goldmoss sedum, goldmoss stonecrop, biting stonecrop *'' Sedum albomarginatum'' Clausen – Feather River stonecrop *'' Sedum album'' L. – white stonecrop *'' Sedum alfredii'' *'' Sedum anglicum'' – English stonecrop *'' Sedum brevifolium'' *'' Sedum burrito'' – baby burro's-tail *'' Sedum caeruleum'' *'' Sedum cauticola'' *'' Sedum clavatum'' *'' Sedum cyprium'' *'' Sedum dasyphyllum'' L. – thick-leaved stonecrop *'' Sedum debile'' S.Watson – orpine stonecrop, weakstem stonecrop *'' Sedum dendroideum'' Moc. & Sessé ex A.DC. – tree stonecrop *'' Sedum divergens'' S.Watson – spreading stonecrop *'' Sedum eastwoodiae'' (Britt.) Berger – Red Mountain stonecrop *'' Sedum erythrostictum'' syn. Hylotelephium erythrostictum *'' Sedum glaucophyllum'' Clausen – cliff stonecrop *'' Sedum hispanicum'' L. – Spanish stonecrop *'' Sedum lampusae'' (Kotschy) Boiss. *'' Sedum lanceolatum'' Torr. – lance-leaf stonecrop, lanceleaf stonecrop, spearleaf stonecrop *'' Sedum laxum'' (Britt.) Berger – roseflower stonecrop *'' Sedum lineare'' – needle stonecrop *'' Sedum mexicanum'' Britt. – Mexican stonecrop *''

Sedum microstachyum ''Sedum microstachyum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is referred to by the common name small-spiked stonecrop. It is an erect, succulent, monocarpic herb, with an unbranched stem up to 40 cm high. Leaves suc ...

'' (Kotschy) Boiss. – small-spiked stonecrop *'' Sedum moranii'' Clausen – Rogue River stonecrop *''

Sedum morganianum ''Sedum morganianum'', the donkey tail or burro's tail, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to southern Mexico. It is a succulent perennial producing trailing stems up to long, with fleshy blue-green leaves and te ...

'' – donkey tail, burro tail *'' Sedum multiceps'' – pygmy Joshua tree, dwarf Joshua tree *'' Sedum niveum'' A.Davids. – Davidson's stonecrop *''

Sedum nussbaumerianum ''Sedum adolphi'' (often erroneously spelled ''Sedum adolphii''), the coppertone stonecrop or golden ''Sedum'', is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae The Crassulaceae (, from Latin ''crassus'', thick), also known as the cr ...

'' Bitter, syn. ''Sedum adolphi'' – golden sedum *'' Sedum oaxacanum'' Rose *'' Sedum oblanceolatum'' Clausen – oblongleaf stonecrop *'' Sedum obtusatum'' Gray – sierra stonecrop **''Sedum obtusatum'' ssp. ''paradisum'' Denton – paradise stonecrop *'' Sedum ochroleucum'' Chaix – European stonecrop *'' Sedum oreganum'' Nutt. – Oregon stonecrop *'' Sedum oregonense'' (S.Watson) M.E.Peck – cream stonecrop *'' Sedum palmeri'' S.Watson – Palmer's stonecrop *'' Sedum perezdelarosae'' Jimeno-Sevilla *'' Sedum porphyreum'' Kotschy – purple stonecrop *'' Sedum pulchellum'' Michx. – widow's-cross *'' Sedum radiatum'' S.Watson – Coast Range stonecrop *'' Sedum rubrotinctum'' – pork and beans, Christmas cheer, jellybeans *'' Sedum rupestre'' L. – reflexed stonecrop, blue stonecrop, Jenny's stonecrop, prick-madam *'' Sedum sarmentosum'' Bunge – stringy stonecrop *'' Sedum sediforme'' (Jacq.) Pau pale stonecrop *'' Sedum sexangulare'' – tasteless stonecrop *'' Sedum sieboldii'' – Siebold's stonecrop *''

Sedum smallii ''Sedum smallii'', synonym ''Diamorpha smallii'', is a species of plants in the family Crassulaceae. It is known as elf orpine and Small's stonecrop. As ''Diamorpha smallii'' it was considered to be the only species in the genus ''Diamorpha''. '' ...

'', syn. ''Diamorpha smallii'' – Small's stonecrop *''

Sedum spathulifolium ''Sedum spathulifolium'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names broadleaf stonecrop, yellow stonecrop, and spoon-leaved stonecrop. An evergreen perennial, it is native to western North America from Br ...

'' Hook.f. – Broadleaf stonecrop, Colorado stonecrop *'' Sedum spurium'' – Caucasian stonecrop, dragon's blood sedum, two-row stonecrop *'' Sedum stenopetalum'' Pursh – wormleaf stonecrop, yellow stonecrop *'' Sedum telephium'' L. *'' Sedum ternatum'' Michx. – woodland stonecrop *'' Sedum takesimense'' *'' Sedum telephium'' *'' Sedum villosum'' – hairy stonecrop, purple stonecrop *'' Sedum weinbergii''

Distribution and habitat

Distributed mainly in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

climates in the Northern hemisphere, extending to the Southern hemisphere in Africa and South America, being most diverse in the Mediterranean, Central America, Himalayas, and East Asia. In this respect, the two subgenera differ. Subgenus ''Sedum'' having a

centre of diversity A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posit ...

in Mexico, and Gormania in Eurasia with a secondary centre in North America.

Ecology

''Sedum'' species are used as food plants by the

larvae A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect developmental biology, development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typical ...

of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species including the

grey chi The grey chi (; ''Antitype chi'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was Species description, first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. It is distributed througho ...

moth. In particular, ''

'' is the host plant of the endangered San Bruno elfin butterfly of

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

. '' Sedum lanceolatum'' is the host plant of the more common ''

Parnassius smintheus ''Parnassius smintheus'', the Rocky Mountain parnassianJim P. Brock and K. Kaufman. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, New York, NY:Houghton Mifflin, 2003. or Rocky Mountain apollo, is a high-altitude butterfly found in the Rock ...

'' found in the Rocky Mountains. As well as ''Sedum spathulifolium'', many other species of ''Sedum'' serve the environmental role of host plants for butterflies. For example, the butterfly ''

Callophrys xami ''Callophrys xami'', commonly referred to as the xami hairstreak or green hairstreak, is a butterfly included in the subgenus ''Xamia'' and the genus ''Callophrys'' in the family Lycaenidae. It was described by Tryon Reakirt in 1867. Other common ...

'' uses several species of ''Sedum'', such as ''Sedum allantoides'', for suitable host plants.

Uses

Ornamental

Many sedums are cultivated as

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

plants, due to their interesting and attractive appearance and hardiness. The various species differ in their requirements; some are cold-hardy but do not tolerate heat, some require heat but do not tolerate cold. Numerous hybrid

cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

have been developed, of which the following have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

: * 'Herbstfreude' ('Autumn Joy') * 'Bertram Anderson' * 'Matrona' * 'Ruby Glow'

As food

The leaves of most stonecrops are edible, excepting '' Sedum rubrotinctum,'' although toxicity has also been reported in some other species. The juice from the stems and leaves may irritate skin if handled excessively. '' Sedum reflexum'', known as "prickmadam", "stone orpine", or "crooked yellow stonecrop", is occasionally used as a salad leaf or

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, including the United Kingdom. It has a slightly

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin '' adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

sour The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...

taste. '' Sedum divergens'', known as "spreading stonecrop", was eaten by First Nations people in northwest

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The plant is used as a salad herb by the

Haida Haida may refer to: Haida people Many uses of the word derive from the name of an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. * Haida people, an Indigenous ethnic group of North America (Canada) ** Council of the Haida Nati ...

and the

Nisga'a The Nisga’a (; ), formerly spelled Nishga or Niska, are an Indigenous people in British Columbia, Canada. They reside in the Nass River valley of northwestern British Columbia. The origin of the term ''Niska'' is uncertain. The spelling ' ...

people. It is common in the

Nass Valley The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance. Nass Bay joins Portland Inl ...

of British Columbia. Biting stonecrop (''

'') contains high quantities of

piperidine alkaloids Piperidine alkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds from the group of alkaloids, which are chemically derived from piperidine. Alkaloids with a piperidine building block are widespread and are usually further subdivided according to ...

(namely (+)- sedridine, (−)- sedamine, sedinone and isopelletierine), which give it a sharp, peppery, acrid taste and make it somewhat

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

Roofing

''Sedum'' can be used to provide a roof covering in

green roof A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...

s, where they are preferred to

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es. Examples include Ford's

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...

Truck Plant, which has a living roof with of sedum. The

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a British luxury automobile maker that has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW, BMW AG since 2003 – as the exclusive manufacturer of ''Rolls-Royce''-branded motor cars. The company's administra ...

plant in Goodwood,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, has a roof complex covered in ''Sedum'', the largest in the United Kingdom. Nintendo of America's roof is covered in some of ''Sedum''. The

Javits Center The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James In ...

in New York City is covered with of ''Sedum''.

Green tramway

Tiefliegendes Rasengleis mit Bodendeckern der Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe in Riehen

Berlin's Prenzlauer Allee,

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, for example, plant sedum in between rails of some tramways as a low maintenance alternative to grass. This provides beautification, a permeable surface for water management, and noise reduction.

Gallery

Notes

References

Bibliography

Books and theses

* * * * * * , in * * * * * '
full text at
'

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education' ...

) * ''see also''

Flora Europaea The ''Flora Europaea'' is a 5-volume encyclopedia of plants, published between 1964 and 1993 by Cambridge University Press. The aim was to describe all the national Floras of Europe in a single, authoritative publication to help readers identify ...

Historical

* * * * , ''see also''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genus, genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial nomenclature ...

Articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Websites

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Databases and flora

*
**
** * * (''see also''

Angiosperm Phylogeny Website The Angiosperm Phylogeny Website (or APweb) is a website that presents up-to-date research on the phylogeny and taxonomy of flowering plants (angiosperms) in what is intended to be a user-friendly way. The site is hosted by the Missouri Botanical ...

) * * *

External links

{{Authority control Garden plants Medicinal plants Succulent plants Crassulaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus