Sedum album L.

White stonecrop (en), Orpin blanc (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Saxifragales > Crassulaceae > Sedum

Characteristics

Herbs, perennial, laxly cespitose, minutely puberulent, papillose. Stems creeping and short-ascending, much-branched, (densely glandular-pubescent basally), not bearing rosettes. Leaves alternate, patent or appressed, sessile; blade green, often reddish, not glaucous, linear to ovate, subterete but adaxial surface somewhat flattened, 4-20(-25) × 1-20 mm, base scarcely spurred, not scarious, apex obtuse or rounded, (surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy). Flowering shoots erect, simple or branched, 5-18(-30) cm, (glabrous or sparsely hairy); leaf blades linear to ovate, base scarcely spurred; offsets not formed. Inflorescences paniculate cymes, 15-50+-flowered, 3-5-branched; branches reflexed, forked; bracts similar to leaves, smaller. Pedicels 3-5 mm. Flowers 5-merous; sepals erect, connate basally, green, ovate to triangular, equal, 0.5-1.5 × 0.2-0.5 mm, apex acute, (glabrous or sparsely and minutely puberulent); petals spreading, distinct, white or rarely pink, lanceolate, not carinate, 2-4.5 mm, apex subacute; filaments white; anthers red; nectar scales white or yellow, spatulate. Carpels erect in fruit, distinct, whitish. 2n = 34, 51, 68, 85, 102, 136.
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Almost prostrate, mat-forming, perennial herb with slender stems rooting freely at nodes and shortly ascending in distal part, minutely glandular-hairy when young. Lvs alternate, sessile, confined to erect part of stem, dense and loosely imbricate but not forming terminal rosettes, 3-6-(17) × 2-4 mm, 1-3 mm thick, broadly ellipsoid, ellipsoid-obovoid or oblong, subterete and slightly flattened on upper side, entire, glabrous, dark green, brownish green, reddish green or glaucescent; apex rounded. Infl. terminal, 5-15 cm high, a flattened or corymbose, rather dense, glabrous cyme 2-5 × 3-6 cm; bracts very small and not leaflike, often caducous. Fls numerous, with pedicels 1-2 mm long, not secund. Sepals equal, c. 1.5 mm long, broadly elliptic. Petals 5, patent, 3-4 × 1.2-1.7 mm, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, white, sharply acute. Stamens c. 3 mm long; filaments white; anthers purple. Carpels and styles white, ageing pink. Scales ± semi-lunate or very broadly spathulate. Follicles pinkish or streaked with red, ± parallel. Seed 0.8-1 mm long, ± narrowly ellipsoid, longitudinally ribbed.
Fibrous-rooted perennial from creeping stems, forming mats with more erect flowering stems 1–2 dm; lvs alternate, subterete, 0.6–1.5 cm, obtuse, scarcely spurred at base; infl convex, rather dense, repeatedly branched; fls mostly 5-merous; pet white, 3–4 mm; frs pink, erect; 2n=68, 136. Native of Eurasia, sometimes escaped from cult. June, July.
A small succulent plant. It grows 5-10 cm high and spreads 20-50 cm wide. It spreads and forms mats. It keeps growing from year to year. The leaves are 6-18 mm long. They are narrow and cylinder shaped and often have a red tint. The flowers are small and white and in heads.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination entomogamy
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) 0.1 - 0.5
Mature height (meter) 0.1 - 0.13
Root system creeping-root fibrous-root rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows on rocky places and stone walls. It suits hardiness zones 6-10.
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Rocks, walls, cobbled paths etc, in dry sunny situations on acid or calcareous soils.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 2-7
Soil texture 2-8
Soil acidity 5-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 5-8

Usage

The leaves are eaten as a snack. They add flavour and are used in salads. Caution: The plant contains 2 alkaloids sedine and sedamine so should not be eaten in large amounts when raw but these get destroyed with cooking.
Uses environmental use medicinal ornamental spice
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Cancer (unspecified), Detersive (unspecified), Emollient (unspecified), Sore (unspecified)
Human toxicity weak toxic (leaf), weak toxic (fruit)
Animal toxicity weak toxic (leaf), weak toxic (fruit)

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings, divisions or seedlings.
Mode cuttings divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) 15 - 30
Germination temperacture (C°) 10
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -32
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Sedum album habit picture by Tarmorin (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album habit picture by Francois Mansour (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album habit picture by francois tissot (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Sedum album leaf picture by bruno granouillac (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album leaf picture by Jean-Daniel BLARD (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album leaf picture by lily unnamed (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Sedum album flower picture by Panthère Rose (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album flower picture by René Burkhard (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album flower picture by Christophe Gautreau (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Sedum album fruit picture by David Hocken (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album fruit picture by Nathalie Potel (cc-by-sa)
Sedum album fruit picture by Conde Montecristo (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Sedum album world distribution map, present in Canada, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, New Zealand, and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:275022-1
WFO ID wfo-0000438148
COL ID 4W8VP
BDTFX ID 62141
INPN ID 122106
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Oreosedum album Sedum vermiculare Oreosedum serpentini Sedum serpentini Sedum angulatum Sedum albellum Sedum album Sedum teretifolium Sedum turgidum Sedum clusianum Sedum balticum Sedum muleyanum Sedum gombertii Sedum micranthum Leucosedum album Sedum vermiculifolium Sedum chrisianum Sedum athoum Sedum album subsp. micranthum Oreosedum album subsp. micranthum Oreosedum album var. micranthum

Lower taxons

Sedum album subsp. rupimelitense Sedum album subsp. serpentini