Burke: Sedum leibergii vs. Sedum laxum

	Sedum leibergii	Sedum laxum
	Leiberg's stonecrop
Habit	Weak perennial from short, slender rhizomes, the few, simple flowering stems upright, 7-12 cm. tall, with few sterile branches.
Leaves	Basal leaves crowded is rosettes, oval, some less than 5 mm. long, rice-like in appearance, others more elongate and spatulate, covered with short projections; cauline leaves near the base narrowly spatulate-oblanceolate, up to 25 mm. long, reduced upward to obovate and 6 mm. long.
Flowers	Flowers numerous in several-rayed, spreading cymes, sessile; sepals 5, triangular to lance-ovate, 1-1.5 mm. long; petals 5, distinct, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, 5-8 mm. long; stamens 10, shorter than the petals; pistils 5.
Fruits	Follicles 5, widely spreading, basally united for 1 mm., covered with glandular projections.
Comments	Flowers with more than 5 follicles, as shown in the photos, are rare.

	Sedum leibergii	Sedum laxum
Flowering time	April-July
Habitat	Mossy rocks to open, gravelly hillsides, chiefly in canyons.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to Oregon, east to Montana. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. acre, S. album, S. brevifolium, S. divergens, S. forsterianum, S. lanceolatum, S. oreganum, S. rupicola, S. spathulifolium, S. stenopetalum, S. thartii	S. acre, S. album, S. brevifolium, S. divergens, S. forsterianum, S. lanceolatum, S. leibergii, S. oreganum, S. rupicola, S. spathulifolium, S. stenopetalum, S. thartii
Web links	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR 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 leibergii

Sedum laxum

Leiberg's stonecrop

Habit

Weak perennial from short, slender rhizomes, the few, simple flowering stems upright, 7-12 cm. tall, with few sterile branches.

Leaves

Basal leaves crowded is rosettes, oval, some less than 5 mm. long, rice-like in appearance, others more elongate and spatulate, covered with short projections;

cauline leaves near the base narrowly spatulate-oblanceolate, up to 25 mm. long, reduced upward to obovate and 6 mm. long.

Flowers

Flowers numerous in several-rayed, spreading cymes, sessile;

sepals 5, triangular to lance-ovate, 1-1.5 mm. long;

petals 5, distinct, narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, 5-8 mm. long;

stamens 10, shorter than the petals;

pistils 5.

Fruits

Follicles 5, widely spreading, basally united for 1 mm., covered with glandular projections.

Comments

Flowers with more than 5 follicles, as shown in the photos, are rare.