White stonecrop

Description

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. Three subspecies album, micranthum (Bastard ex DC.) Syme and teretifolium Syme have been described. 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. 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.