Sedum leibergii
Sedum niveum
Leiberg stonecrop, Leiberg's stonecrop
Davidson's stonecrop
rootstocks, horizontal, simple, bearing basal rosettes (axillary shoots with subterranean, white stems that detach easily and bear terminal rosettes of colorless leaves).
(primary) repent, branched, bearing axillary rosettes.
erect, simple, (5–)11(–18) cm;
leaf blades ovate or elliptic, base not spurred;
offsets not formed.
erect or ascending, simple, 0.5–4.5 cm;
leaf blades obovate, oblanceolate, or elliptic-ovate, base short-spurred;
offsets not formed.
alternate, spreading, outermost ones petiolate (petiole 4–5 mm);
blade green or greenish white, not glaucous, oblanceolate, obovate, or narrowly spatulate, laminar, 2–16 × 1.4–3.2 mm, base not spurred, not scarious, apex blunt, (surfaces papillose).
alternate or, rarely, nearly opposite, spreading, sessile;
blade dark green to yellow-green, speckled with red, not glaucous, obovate to oblanceolate, subterete, 4.8–9 × 2.2–4.2 mm, base spurred, not scarious, apex rounded or obtuse with minute mucronate appendage, (surfaces papillose).
cymes, 5–60-flowered, 3–6-branched;
branches often strongly recurved, each 1 or 2 times dichotomously forked;
bracts similar to leaves, smaller.
cymes, 2–9-flowered, or flowers solitary, 1–3-branched;
branches not recurved, not forked;
bracts similar to leaves, smaller.
to 0.3 mm.
absent or to 1 mm.
(5–)6(–7)-merous;
sepals erect, slightly connate basally, green, ovate, equal, 1.5–2 × 0.7–1.1 mm, apex acute;
petals spreading, distinct nearly to base, canary yellow, keel green or dark red, lanceolate to oblong, carinate, 4–6 mm, apex subobtuse to acute;
filaments yellow;
anthers yellow;
nectar scales deep yellow, subquadrate.
5(–8)-merous;
sepals divergent or suberect, distinct, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or oblanceolate-elliptic, unequal, 4.4–7.2 × 1.2–1.7 mm, apex acute to obtuse, (sometimes papillose);
petals basal 1/3 erect, widely spreading distally, slightly connate basally, white streaked with pink, lanceolate, not carinate, 3.5–10 mm, apex acute with minute mucronate appendage;
filaments white, streaked with red;
anthers dark red;
nectar scales yellow, orange, or pink, stipitate-reniform or subquadrate.
stellately spreading in fruit, connate basally, brown.
erect in fruit, connate basally, pale brown.
= 16.
= 32, ca. 128.
Sedum leibergii
Sedum niveum
Variation in the number of floral parts of Sedum leibergii (5–7-merous) is unique in North American sedums. It has tiny rosettes of lax, long-spatulate basal leaves that mostly have shriveled by anthesis. Sedum borschii, which is often confused with S. leibergii, has primary rosettes, prominent at anthesis, that have obovate or elliptic leaves.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Sedum niveum occurs in the San Bernardino, Santa Rosa, and New York mountains in California and the Sierra San Pedro Mártir in Baja California; it is unusual in having tuberous, tufted roots rather than fibrous roots.
R. T. Clausen (1975) discussed issues relating to the identity and distribution of Sedum pinetorum, known only from the type collection, with uncertain locality but possibly Pine City, Mono County, California. He considered it conspecific with S. niveum because the fragments available suggested that it had tuberous roots; no similar plants have been found in the vicinity of Pine City or elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
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