Sedum spathulifolium |
Sedum debile |
|
---|---|---|
broadleaf stonecrop |
weakstem stonecrop |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, forming open mats, glabrous; stolons slender, 0.4–1.3 mm when dried. | Plants perennial, tufted, glabrous. |
Stems | extensively stoloniferous, with dense terminal rosettes. |
decumbent, branched, with erect rosettes. |
Flowering shoots | erect; simple, 3–14 cm; stem leaves alternate, spatulate-oblong or elliptic-oblong; widest at or below middle, different from rosette leaves. |
erect, decumbent or ascending; simple, 3–12 cm; stem leaves opposite or whorled; ovate-elliptic, dried stems ~1 mm thick. |
Leaves | rosette leaves spreading, usually nearly parallel to ground, usually forming flat rosettes, spatulate, narrowing to petioles, 7–19 × 4.5–10 mm, 5 × as wide as thick, green or pruinose and white, bases not spurred, not scarious, sometimes muricate or papillose near margins; tips rounded or truncate; surfaces usually glaucous. |
opposite or rarely alternate, ascending, usually elliptic, oblanceolate or obovate, subterete, 4.2–7.2 × 2.8–4.3 mm, pale green, speckled with pink, sometimes reddish, bases not spurred; tips widely rounded; surfaces slightly glaucous; dull, minutely papillose. |
Inflorescences | cymes with ~30 flowers, 3-branched; branches forked; bracts oblong-spatulate or linear. |
cymes with 2–7 flowers, 2-branched; bracts similar to leaves but smaller. |
Flowers | 5-parted; sepals spreading to erect, lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, oblong-ovate or obovate; ~2.5 × 1.5 mm, green to yellow-green; tips acute or obtuse; surface glaucous or pruinose; petals strongly spreading above erect base, linear to oblanceolate, 4.5–9 mm, yellow; tips acute; filaments yellow; anthers yellow. |
5-parted; sepals erect, 2–4.2 × 1.3–2 mm; tips obtuse; surface glaucous; petals erect at bases but then widely spreading, elliptic-lanceolate, 6–9 mm, yellow; tips obtuse with apiculus; filaments yellow; anthers yellow. |
Fruits | erect until mature then spreading, fused basally, brown. |
erect, connate basally; straw-colored with purple stripes. |
2n | =16. |
|
Sedum spathulifolium |
Sedum debile |
|
Distribution | ||
Discussion | Rocks, cliffs and road cuts. Flowering Apr–Aug. 0–2400 m. Casc, Col, CR, ECas, Est, Sisk, WV. CA, WA; north to British Columbia. Native. Sedum spathulifolium is highly variable. If subspecies are recognized, most of our plants are S. spathulifolium ssp. spathulifolium. A coastal form with thick, white-pruinose leaves, short, stout stolons, dense inflorescences and thick, crowded stem leaves can be called S. s. ssp. pruinosum (if it is considered a strictly coastal entity). If it is considered to include strongly glaucous or pruinose plants of the Coast Range that are less dense in growth form, the name S. s. var. minus would be applied. Plants with thin, green leaves, numerous long, slender stolons that tend to grow upwards before growing out, paler flowers, and more spreading follicles can be called S. s. ssp. purdyi, a rare form known only from southern Josephine County, and Del Norte and Siskiyou counties in California. |
Rock outcrops. Flowering Jun–Aug. 1500–2800 m. BR. ID, NV; northeast to MT, southeast to NM. Native. In our area, the only similar Sedum growing with S. debile is S. lanceolatum. The two have similar flowers, but S. lanceolatum seems to bloom earlier. Sedum debile has paler, glaucous leaves with rounded tips, while S. lanceolatum has reddish leaves with pointed tips. The dense, rounded rosettes of S. debile break off and roll about in wind; they seem to be an important form of reproduction in this species. |
Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 605 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting |
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 601 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Sedum spathulifolium ssp. pruinosum, Sedum spathulifolium ssp. purdyi, Sedum spathulifolium ssp. spathulifolium, Sedum spathulifolium var. minus, Sedum spathulifolium var. pruinosum, Sedum spathulifolium var. spathulifolium | Gormania debilis |
Web links |
|