OregonFlora: Sedum stenopetalum

	Sedum stenopetalum
	wormleaf stonecrop
Habit	Plants annual, biennial, or perennial, tufted to spreading, usually glabrous.
Stems	decumbent, branched, with terminal rosettes.
Flowering shoots	erect, branched, 10–43 cm; stem leaves alternate, linear, with basal scarious spurs and producing offset rosettes in their axils; bulbils present.
Leaves	rosette leaves persistent, spreading to erect, narrowly oblanceolate; narrow and often rounded in cross section, 4.3–13.8 × 1.4–2.7 mm, green to red, bases with small spur; margins sometimes papillose-ciliate; papillae 0.1–0.15 mm; tips acuminate or attenuate; surfaces not glaucous, dried leaves strongly keeled.
Inflorescences	solitary flowers or small cymes with 9–15(25) flowers, mostly 3-branched; primary branches sometimes dichotomously forked; bracts like other leaves but smaller.
Flowers	(3)5(8)-parted; sepals distinct, lanceolate to ovate, 2–3.7 × 0.8–1.7 mm, yellow, yellow-green; greenish, white, or cream-colored; tips acute or acuminate; petals spreading horizontally; distinct, lanceolate to elliptic; widest at or below middle, 5.4–11 mm, yellow or white with green or brown; keel white; tips obtuse to long-acuminate, sometimes apiculate; filaments yellow or white; anthers yellow; ovaries glandular-pustulose.
Fruits	widely spreading when mature, fused near base, light green to brown, papillose, rarely glandular-pustulose.
2n	=64.

	Sedum stenopetalum
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	Western North America. 2 subspecies. Sedum stenopetalum is easily identified by its linear leaves, and by the small rosettes in the axils of all or most of the leaves on the flowering stems. These rosettes may bear more or less deformed, petal-less, terminal flowers. Because plants usually grow from overwintering rosettes that are independent of the parent plant, they usually appear biennial but can be considered clones of long-lived perennials. Plants with a single, terminal flower (sometimes replaced by a rosette), have been segregated as S. stenopetalum ssp./var. monanthum. The range of this putative taxon is completely overlapped by the typical form, and the two are sometimes found in a single population.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 606 Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting
Sibling taxa	S. acre, S. album, S. debile, S. divergens, S. lanceolatum, S. laxum, S. leibergii, S. moranii, S. oblanceolatum, S. oreganum, S. oregonense, S. radiatum, S. spathulifolium, S. thartii
Subordinate taxa	S. stenopetalum ssp. ciliosum, S. stenopetalum ssp. stenopetalum
Synonyms	Sedum douglasii
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Sedum stenopetalum

wormleaf stonecrop

Habit

Plants annual, biennial, or perennial, tufted to spreading, usually glabrous.

Stems

decumbent, branched, with terminal rosettes.

Flowering shoots

erect, branched, 10–43 cm;

stem leaves alternate, linear, with basal scarious spurs and producing offset rosettes in their axils; bulbils present.

Leaves

rosette leaves persistent, spreading to erect, narrowly oblanceolate; narrow and often rounded in cross section, 4.3–13.8 × 1.4–2.7 mm, green to red, bases with small spur;

margins sometimes papillose-ciliate; papillae 0.1–0.15 mm;

tips acuminate or attenuate;

surfaces not glaucous, dried leaves strongly keeled.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers or small cymes with 9–15(25) flowers, mostly 3-branched;

primary branches sometimes dichotomously forked;

bracts like other leaves but smaller.

Flowers

(3)5(8)-parted;

sepals distinct, lanceolate to ovate, 2–3.7 × 0.8–1.7 mm, yellow, yellow-green; greenish, white, or cream-colored;

tips acute or acuminate;

petals spreading horizontally; distinct, lanceolate to elliptic; widest at or below middle, 5.4–11 mm, yellow or white with green or brown;

keel white;

tips obtuse to long-acuminate, sometimes apiculate;

filaments yellow or white;

anthers yellow;

ovaries glandular-pustulose.

Fruits

widely spreading when mature, fused near base, light green to brown, papillose, rarely glandular-pustulose.

=64.

Sedum stenopetalum

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Western North America. 2 subspecies.

Sedum stenopetalum is easily identified by its linear leaves, and by the small rosettes in the axils of all or most of the leaves on the flowering stems. These rosettes may bear more or less deformed, petal-less, terminal flowers. Because plants usually grow from overwintering rosettes that are independent of the parent plant, they usually appear biennial but can be considered clones of long-lived perennials. Plants with a single, terminal flower (sometimes replaced by a rosette), have been segregated as S. stenopetalum ssp./var. monanthum. The range of this putative taxon is completely overlapped by the typical form, and the two are sometimes found in a single population.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 606
Barbara Wilson, Richard Brainerd, Nick Otting

Sibling taxa