Burke: Sedum spathulifolium vs. Sedum stenopetalum

	Sedum spathulifolium	Sedum stenopetalum
	broadleaf stonecrop, spatula-leaf stonecrop	wormleaf stonecrop
Habit	Glabrous, glaucous perennial from numerous, stout rhizomes, with numerous sterile shoots and tight, basal rosettes, the flowering stems stout, erect to ascending, 8-20 cm. tall.	Glabrous perennial herbs from rhizomes, with numerous sterile shoots, the flowering stems erect to ascending, up to 2 dm. tall.
Leaves	Leaves alternate, spatulate-oblanceolate to spatulate-obovate, tapered to the base, strongly flattened but very succulent, 10-20 mm. long and 4-10 mm. broad, strongly overlapping.	Leaves alternate, linear or narrowly linear-lanceolate, keeled or nerved, narrowly tapered to a sharp tip, 5-15 mm. long, deciduous by flowering, except the decumbent branches have many leaves persistent, sometimes only the mid-ribs remaining; upper cauline leaves sometimes persistent and bearing bulblet-like structures.
Flowers	Inflorescence of leafy-bracteate, paniculate cymes; pedicles very short; calyx lobes 5, oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-3.5 mm. long, rounded or obtuse; petals 5, distinct, somewhat recurved, 7-10 mm. long, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, acute; stamens 10, slightly shorter than the petals, 5 attached to the base of the petals.	Flowers in compact cymes; sepals 5, lanceolate, 2 mm. long; petals 5, yellow, 6-8 mm. long, spreading, lanceolate, acuminate and ending in a sharp point; stamens 10, 1.5-2.5 mm. shorter than the petals, 5 attached to the base of the petals. Occasionally some or all of the flowers are reduced to bulblets.
Fruits	Follicles 5, erect until nearly mature, then divergent above the united basal portion.	Follicles 5, widely divergent.

	Sedum spathulifolium	Sedum stenopetalum
Flowering time	April-June	May-July
Habitat	Coastal cliffs, ledges, balds, and gravelly soil in the foothills.	Grasslands and ponderosa pine forests to sub-alpine ridges, on dry, gravelly benches, rock crevices and talus.
Distribution	Occurring west of the Cascades crest and east in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington; southern British Columbia to California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascade crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the northern Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	S. acre, S. album, S. brevifolium, S. divergens, S. forsterianum, S. lanceolatum, S. leibergii, S. oreganum, S. rupicola, 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. thartii
Subordinate taxa		S. stenopetalum ssp. stenopetalum
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	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

broadleaf stonecrop, spatula-leaf stonecrop

wormleaf stonecrop

Habit

Glabrous, glaucous perennial from numerous, stout rhizomes, with numerous sterile shoots and tight, basal rosettes, the flowering stems stout, erect to ascending, 8-20 cm. tall.

Glabrous perennial herbs from rhizomes, with numerous sterile shoots, the flowering stems erect to ascending, up to 2 dm. tall.

Leaves

Leaves alternate, spatulate-oblanceolate to spatulate-obovate, tapered to the base, strongly flattened but very succulent, 10-20 mm. long and 4-10 mm. broad, strongly overlapping.

Leaves alternate, linear or narrowly linear-lanceolate, keeled or nerved, narrowly tapered to a sharp tip, 5-15 mm. long, deciduous by flowering, except the decumbent branches have many leaves persistent, sometimes only the mid-ribs remaining; upper cauline leaves sometimes persistent and bearing bulblet-like structures.

Flowers

Inflorescence of leafy-bracteate, paniculate cymes; pedicles very short;

calyx lobes 5, oblong-lanceolate, 2.5-3.5 mm. long, rounded or obtuse;

petals 5, distinct, somewhat recurved, 7-10 mm. long, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, acute;

stamens 10, slightly shorter than the petals, 5 attached to the base of the petals.

Flowers in compact cymes;

sepals 5, lanceolate, 2 mm. long;

petals 5, yellow, 6-8 mm. long, spreading, lanceolate, acuminate and ending in a sharp point;

stamens 10, 1.5-2.5 mm. shorter than the petals, 5 attached to the base of the petals. Occasionally some or all of the flowers are reduced to bulblets.

Fruits

Follicles 5, erect until nearly mature, then divergent above the united basal portion.

Follicles 5, widely divergent.