Sedum album

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Sedum album
Sedum album 03 ies.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Sedum
Species:
S. album
Binomial name
Sedum album
L.

Sedum album, the white stonecrop, is a flowering plant of the genus Sedum in the family Crassulaceae. It is found in the northern temperate regions of the world, often growing in crevices or free-draining rocky soil. As a long-day plant it grows vegetatively for most of the year and flowers in summer. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

Three subspecies album, micranthum (Bastard ex DC.) Syme and teretifolium Syme have been described. [2] [3] [4] In 2015, a new subspecies rupimelitense was described in Malta. [5]

Description

White stonecrop is a tufted perennial herb that forms mat-like stands. Much of the year the stems are short, semi prostrate and densely clad in leaves. At the flowering time in July and August, the stems lengthen and are erect, occasionally branched and often pinkish-brown. The leaves are alternate, fleshy and nearly cylindrical with a blunt, rounded tip. They are also sometimes tinged with pink, especially in drought-stressed plants. The starry flowers form a dense cyme. The calyx has five fleshy sepals fused at the base, the corolla consists of five regular white petals, there are ten stamens, a separate gynoecium and five pistils. The fruit is five united, many-seeded follicles. [6]

Habitat

White stonecrop is a low-growing plant that cannot compete with more vigorous fast-growing species. It is specially adapted for growing on thin dry soils and can be found on walls, dry banks, seashore rocks and in rocky meadows. [6]

Physiology

Sedum album is able to acclimate to its environment. It can switch between C3 carbon fixation and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) depending on the availability of water. CAM saves water as the stomata on its leaves only open to allow CO2 to diffuse into the leaves at night when the temperature (and therefore evapotranspiration) is lower. [7] Drought stressed plants are also more susceptible to photoinhibition which CAM may help to protect against. [1]

Cultivation

Hardy in Zones 3–9. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crassulaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Crassulaceae, 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 Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). Flowers generally have five floral parts. Crassulaceae are usually herbaceous but there are some subshrubs, and relatively few treelike or aquatic plants. Crassulaceae are a medium size monophyletic family in the core eudicots, among the order Saxifragales, whose diversity has made infrafamilial classification very difficult. The family includes approximately 1,400 species and 34–35 genera, depending on the circumscription of the genus Sedum, and distributed over three subfamilies. Members of the Crassulaceae are found worldwide, but mostly in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Africa, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce, although a few are aquatic.

<i>Sedum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Sedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, 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 found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, but extending into the southern hemisphere in Africa and South America. The plants vary from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have water-storing leaves. The flowers usually have five petals, seldom four or six. There are typically twice as many stamens as petals. Various species formerly classified as Sedum are now in the segregate genera Hylotelephium and Rhodiola.

<i>Dudleya</i> North American succulent genus

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, some large and evergreen, others geophytic and deciduous. Yet, despite their dramatic variations in appearance, most species readily hybridize. The flowers of Dudleya have parts numbered in fives, with the petals arranged in tubular, star-shaped, and bell-shaped forms and, when fruiting, are filled with tiny, ovoid-crescent-shaped seeds.

<i>Sedum acre</i> Species of flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae

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, but also naturalised in North America, Japan, and New Zealand.

<i>Petrosedum rupestre</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae

Petrosedum rupestre, also known as reflexed stonecrop, Jenny's stonecrop, blue stonecrop, stone orpine, prick-madam and trip-madam, is a species of perennial succulent flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to northern, central, and southern Europe.

<i>Hylotelephium telephium</i> Species of genus Hylotelephium, in the family Crassulaceae (stonecrop family)

Hylotelephium telephium, known as orpine, livelong, frog's-stomach, harping Johnny, life-everlasting, live-forever, midsummer-men, Orphan John and witch's moneybags, is a succulent perennial groundcover of the family Crassulaceae native to Eurasia. The flowers are held in dense heads and can be reddish or yellowish-white. A number of cultivars, often with purplish leaves, are grown in gardens as well as hybrids between this species and the related Hylotelephium spectabile (iceplant), especially the popular 'Herbstfreude'. Occasionally garden plants may escape and naturalise as has happened in parts of North America.

<i>Phedimus spurius</i> Species of succulent flowering plant

Phedimus spurius, the Caucasian stonecrop or two-row stonecrop, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is still widely listed in the literature as Sedum spurium.

<i>Hylotelephium spectabile</i> Species of succulent

Hylotelephium spectabile is a species of flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, native to China and Korea. Its common names include showy stonecrop, iceplant, and butterfly stonecrop.

<i>Sedum albomarginatum</i> Species of succulent

Sedum albomarginatum is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name Feather River stonecrop. It is endemic to California where it is known from fewer than 20 occurrences along the Feather River in Plumas and Butte Counties. It grows on steep cliffs and mountain slopes in rocky serpentine substrates.

<i>Sedum lanceolatum</i> Species of succulent

Sedum lanceolatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names spearleaf stonecrop and lanceleaf stonecrop.

<i>Sedum obtusatum</i> Species of succulent

Sedum obtusatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name Sierra stonecrop. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and adjacent high mountain ranges of California, its distribution extending north into Oregon and east into Nevada. It grows in rocky mountain habitat.

<i>Sedum oregonense</i> Species of succulent

Sedum oregonense is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name cream stonecrop. It is native to the Klamath Ranges of southern Oregon and northern California, where it grows in rocky habitat. It is a succulent plant forming basal rosettes of leaves up to about 4 centimeters long. Smaller leaves occur farther up the stem. The leaves are green in color and waxy in texture. The inflorescence is an erect, wide open array of many flowers. The flowers have yellow petals with red-tinged or white-speckled undersides.

Sedum radiatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name Coast Range stonecrop. It is native to Oregon and California, where it is known from several coastal and inland mountain ranges, including the Klamath Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. It grows in many types of rocky habitat, sometimes on serpentine soils. It is an annual or biennial succulent plant producing several stems with elevated, somewhat basal rosettes of leaves. The leaves are not much more than a centimeter long. They are green or yellowish with green, purple or red veining. The inflorescence is a short, erect array of many densely packed flowers. The flowers have yellow, cream, or white petals which are lance-shaped and one half to 1 centimeter long.

<i>Sedum spathulifolium</i> Species of succulent

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 British Columbia to southern California, where it can be found often in shade in many types of rocky habitat in coastal and inland hills and mountains.

<i>Sedum anglicum</i> Species of succulent

Sedum anglicum, the English stonecrop, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Sedum in the family Crassulaceae.

Sedum moraniii is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name Rogue River stonecrop. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it only grows in Josephine County next to the Rogue River.

<i>Sedum dasyphyllum</i> Species of succulent

Sedum dasyphyllum, also named Sedum burnatii and commonly known as Corsican stonecrop or thick-leaved stonecrop, is a low-growing succulent flowering plant of the genus Sedum in the family Crassulaceae.

<i>Sedum adolphi</i> Species of succulent

Sedum adolphi, the coppertone stonecrop or golden Sedum, is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is native to Mexico, where it grows in rocky terrain and on cliff faces. It has also become naturalized in Sicily and the Canary Islands. It is known for its bright orange-copper leaves and white flowers that bloom in the spring.

<i>Dudleya saxosa <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> collomiae</i> Subspecies of succulent plant

Dudleya saxosa subsp. collomiae, known by the common name Gila County liveforever, is a subspecies of perennial succulent plant within the genus Dudleya native to central Arizona. It is characterized by showy bright-yellow flowers on an upright inflorescence colored pink, red or orange. The leaves are green or covered in a white, powdery wax. This species is found growing in rocky slopes, canyons, and crevices, and often on Sonoran Desert sky islands.

<i>Sedum album <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> rupimelitense</i> Species of flowering plant

Sedum album subsp. rupimelitense is a plant subspecies belonging to the Crassulaceae family. It is an endemic taxon in the Maltese Islands and is found growing on sea cliffs and rock faces. This taxon is often referred to as the Maltese stonecrop due to its growth on rocky outcrops.

References

  1. 1 2 Castillo, F J (9 December 2004). "Antioxidative protection in the inducible CAM plant Sedum album L. following the imposition of severe water stress and recovery". Oecologia. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. 107 (4): 469–477. doi:10.1007/BF00333937. PMID   28307389. S2CID   23864025.
  2. Natural History Museum: Sedum album subsp. album
  3. Tela Botanica. Sedum album
  4. 1 2 Missouri Botanical Garden: Sedum album subsp. teretifolium 'Murale'
  5. Mifsud, Stephen Martin; Stephenson, Ray; Thiede, Joachim (2015-09-23). "Sedum album subsp. rupi-melitense (Crassulaceae), a new vegetatively reproducing subspecies from Malta (Maltese Islands, Central Mediterranean)". Phytotaxa. 227 (2): 135. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.227.2.3. ISSN   1179-3163.
  6. 1 2 "White stonecrop: Sedum album". NatureGate. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  7. Earnshaw, M. J.; Carver, K. A.; Lee, J. A. (1985). "Changes in leaf water potential and CAM in Sempervivum montanum and Sedum album in response to water availability in the field". Oecologia. 67 (4): 486–492. Bibcode:1985Oecol..67..486E. doi:10.1007/BF00790018. PMID   28311032. S2CID   21923282.