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Sedum (From sedeo to sit alluding)

(from sedeo, to sit; alluding to the manner in which the plants fix themselves on rocks and walls). Orpine; Stonecrop. Including Rhodiola. ORD. Crassulaceae. A genus comprising about 120 species of mostly hardy, glabrous or glandular-pubescent, fleshy, erect or decumbent, sometimes tufted or Musk-like herbs, rarely sub-shrubs, nearly all natives of the temperate and frigid regions of the Northern hemisphere; they are rare in America; one is found in Peru. Flowers white or yellow, rarely pink or blue, cymose in a few cases axillary and solitary; calyx four or five-lobed; petals four or five (rarely six or seven), free; stamens eight to ten (rarely twelve to fourteen); filaments filiform or subulate. Leaves very variable, opposite, alternate, and whorled, entire or serrate, rarely laciniate. Sedums are amongst the easiest of plants to grow; like Saxifrages and Sempervivums, they succeed in almost any position, on rockwork, old walls, or ruins, or in the mixed border. Some are specially adapted for use in carpet bedding, S. lydium being an example. S. acre, and its variety aureum, though common, are plants much favoured by almost everybody, and allowed to spread extensively. S. spectabile is a fine, herbaceous border plant, also equally well adapted for pot culture. All Sedums are readily propagated by seeds, by cuttings, or by division of the tufts in spring. They prefer an open, loamy soil, and to grow amongst stones, but, as before noted, they thrive in almost any position.

A selection of the best-known species is given below; they are hardy, herbaceous perennials, except where otherwise indicated. S. acre (bitter). Wall Pepper. fl. yellow, numerous, 1/2in. across; sepals like the leaves, half the length of the lanceolate, spreading petals; cymes one-sided, two to five-forked; flower-stems erect, 2in. to 3in. high. Summer. l. minute, 1/8in. to 1/4 in. long, crowded, thick, conical, obtuse, gibbous at base, having an acrid taste; those on the flower-stems scattered. Barren stems creeping, branched, about 2in. long, slender-cylindrical, rooting near the base. Europe (Britain). Plant glabrous, evergreen. (Sy. En. B. 532.) The commonest British species, of which the following varieties are worth notice: S. a aureum (golden).* l. and tips of the shoots bright golden-yellow in spring. This charming variety is admirably suited for spring bedding, or for giving colour at a dull time of the year.

S. a. elegans (elegant). l., young ones and tips of the shoots of a pale silvery colour. This is not so effective as aureum, and is more delicate. S. a. majus (large). fl. 3/4in. across; sepals linear-oblong, slightly gibbous at base; petals twice the length of the sepals; cyme two parted, with a central sessile flower, the branches recurved, one sided. l. in seven rows, closely crowded, thick, deltoid-ovoid, scarcely auricled at base. Plant larger and more robust than the type. A distinct plant, regarded by Dr. Masters as "perhaps even deserving of specific rank."

S. Aizoon (Aizoon).* fl. yellow, numerous, 1/2in. in diameter, in a loose, panicled cyme, 1in. to 3in. in diameter; lower peduncles axillary, distant; upper ones umbellate, flat-topped. Late summer. l. distant, sessile, alternate, 2 1/2in. by 3/4in., oblong-lanceolate, coarsely and irregularly toothed for the greater part of their length; midrib prominent. Stems glabrous, 1ft. or more high, sub-angular, several from the same crown, erect, unbranched. Siberia, &c., 1757. An old inhabitant of our gardens. S. albicans (whitish). A garden form of S. Telephium. S. album (white).* fl. white, nearly 1/2in. across; petals lanceolate, spreading, twice the length of the calyx; cymes 2in. to 3in. in diameter, corymbose, much-branched, many-flowered; flower stems pinkish, erect, 4in. to 6in. high. Summer. l. alternate, spreading, 1/2in. long, linear-oblong, obtuse, contracted at base. Barren shoots erect or creeping, rooting, terete, olive-brown, sometimes slightly tubercled. Europe (Britain). Plant glabrous, tufted, evergreen, handsome when in flower. (Sy. En. B. 529.) SYNS. S. farinosum and S. neglectum (of gardens). The following are varieties: S. a. brevifolium (short-leaved). l. shorter and thicker than in the type. S. a. micranthum (small-flowered). fl. smaller than in the species. l. on the barren shoots ascending, not spreading, flattened on both surfaces. S. a. teretifolium (terete-leaved). fl., sepals and petals obtuse. l. much flattened above. (Sy. En. B. 529.) S. amplexicaule (stem-clasping). fl. golden-yellow, numerous, secund; sepals furrowed outside; petals 1/4in. long, keeled, twice the length of the sepals; cymes two-forked, leafy, with a solitary flower in the fork; flower-stems decumbent, ascending, 6in. to 9in. long. Summer. l. dilated and membranous at base, tapering to a long, awl-shaped point; those of the flower-stems alternate, ascending, sessile, 1/2in. long. Branches 2in. to 4in. long, wiry, ascending, clothed with imbricating leaves. Mediterranean region. A curious, glabrous, evergreen species. The ends of the shoots swell out into small, scaly tubers.

S. Anacampseros (Anacampseros). fl. violet, numerous, but rarely produced, about 1/4in. in diameter; cymes dense, terminal, globose, with a few small leaves intermixed; flower-stems erect, terete, reddish. July. l. orbicular or obovate, obtuse, apiculate, cordate, auricled at base, with reddish margins. Branches erect, rooting at the nodes. Central Europe, 1596. Plant glaucous, evergreen. (B. M. 118.) S. anglicum (English).* fl. pure white or rosy-tinted, 3/8in. across; sepals less than half the length of the lanceolate petals; cymes dichotomous, few-flowered; flower-stems 2in. long. July. l. crowded, alternate, sub-opposite, less crowded on the flower stems, erect or spreading, 1/8in. to 1/4in. long. Barren shoots trailing or erect, 1in. to 2in. long, forming dense, cushion-like masses. Western Europe (Britain). A neat and pretty, glabrous, evergreen species, suitable for rockeries. It is rather difficult to cultivate. (Sy. En. B. 531.) S. anopetalum (erect-petaled). fl. pale greenish-yellow, 1/2in. across; sepals five to seven, deltoid, grooved; petals erecto-patent, somewhat folded and keeled; cymes dense, flat or concave, umbellate, about 1in. in diameter. July and August. l. in eight ranks, approximate, sessile, spreading (or on the flowering shoots ascending), 3/8in. long, terete, awl-shaped, spine-tipped, greyish-green, red at the tips. Branches prostrate or ascending, 4in. to 6in. long. South Europe, 1818. Plant more or less glaucous, evergreen. S. arboreum (tree-like). fl. white, 1/2in. across, five-parted; petals lanceolate, keeled, twice or more longer than the linear-oblong sepals; cymes terminal, many-flowered. July. l. on older shoots deltoid, subulate, terete, or somewhat four-sided, 1/8in. long, horizontally spreading; those on the young shoots more or less crowded, linear, terete, pimpled. h. 4in. to 6in. Native place unknown. Plant glabrous, suffrutescent, evergreen, with no separate barren shoots, branching from near the base, the branches spreading. S. asiaticum (Asiatic). fl. greenish-yellow, in compact, terminal, globose cymes, numerous, five-parted; petals twice the length of the sepals; anthers orange-brown. Summer. l. opposite, decussate, spreading, sessile, 3/4in. to 1in. by 1/8in. or more, linear oblong, coarsely and irregularly toothed. Stems annual, 6in. to 12in. high, erect, unbranched, slender, glabrous. Himalayas. Half-hardy or greenhouse.

S. Beyrichianum (Beyrich's). fl. white, 1/8in. across; sepals as long as the petals; cyme forked; fertile stems erect, 2 1/2in. high, with numerous crowded, ascending leaves. l. in rosettes, 1/2in. by 1/8in., spathulate, obtuse, tapering to stalks, red-dotted. Native place unknown. Evergreen. S. brevifolium (short-leaved).* fl. 1/4 in. across; sepals whitish, with a pink midrib, oblong-lanceolate; petals also having a pink midrib, oblong, acute; cyme umbellate, two or three-forked, with a pedicellate flower in the center of each fork. July. l. crowded, in four rows, 1/10in. long, ovoid, pinkish, densely mealy-pubescent. France, &c. A beautiful little, densely tufted, glaucous, pruinose, evergreen species, with much the habit of S. dasyphyllum.

S. carneum variegatum (flesh-coloured, variegated). A form of S. sarmentosum. S. coeruleum (blue).* fl. pale blue, five to seven-parted, 1/4in. in diameter; sepals half the length of the petals, both oblong, obtuse; cyme loose, many-flowered, 1in. in diameter, with recurved branches. July. l. tufted, 1/4in. long, oblong, obtuse, pale green, spotted with red. Stems 2in. to 3in. high, branched from the base. Mediterranean region, 1822. Plant glabrous or the inflorescence pilose. A charming little annual.

S. collinum (hill-loving). A garden synonym S. reflexum. S. corsicanum (Corsican). A corruption of corsicum, a name which has been applied to forms of S. dasyphyllum and S. maximum.

S. corsicum (Corsican), of Duby. A synonym of S. dasyphyllum glanduliferum. S. dasyphyllum (thick-leaved). fl. pinkish, 3/4in. across; petals lanceolate, three or four times the length of the fleshy sepals; cymes corymbose, loose, few-flowered. July. l. crowded, sessile, spreading, thick, 1/8in. to 1/6in. long, oblong, acute, or sub-orbicular, pimpled. Stems tufted, slender, 2in. to 3in. long, branching. Europe (Britain). Plant glaucous, glabrous, or glandular, evergreen. (Sy. En. B. 530.) The form glanduliferum (B. M. 6027), often met with in cultivation, is densely glandular-pubescent (SYN. S. corsicum, of Duby); while oblongifolium has oblong leaves. S. dentatum (toothed). A garden synonym of S. S. stoloniferum. S. denticulatum (slightly-toothed). A garden synonym of S. stoloniferum. S. elegans (elegant). A synonym of S. pruinatum.

S. crythrostictum (blush-tinted).* fl. greenish, nearly 1/2in. across; petals spreading, lanceolate, flushed with pink, twice the length of the sepals; cymes terminal, corymbose. September. l. opposite or alternate, ascending, 2 1/2in. by 1in., concave, oblong, sinuate, obscurely toothed, entire and sub-cuneate or rounded at base, tapering into short petioles or quite sessile. Stem erect, greenish, 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. high. Japan. A handsome species. (Ref. B. 33 and R. G. 709, under name of S. albo-roseum.) The form variegatum has leaves blotched with yellow.

S. Ewersii (Ewers').* fl. pink or pale violet, numerous; petals twice the length of the sepals, dark-spotted; cymes dense, globose. August and