The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

broad-leaf stonecrop, Pacific stonecrop, spatula-leaf stonecrop

white stonecrop

Habit Herbs, perennial, mat-forming, glabrous. Herbs, perennial, laxly cespitose, minutely puberulent, papillose.
Stems

rhizomatous, procumbent or creeping, much-branched, bearing terminal rosettes.

creeping and short-ascending, much-branched, (densely glandular-pubescent basally), not bearing rosettes.

Flowering shoots

erect, simple, 3–14 cm;

leaf blades spatulate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, base not spurred;

offsets not formed.

erect, simple or branched, 5–18(–30) cm, (glabrous or sparsely hairy);

leaf blades linear to ovate, base scarcely spurred;

offsets not formed.

Leaves

alternate, spreading, petiolate;

blade green, often glaucous or pruinose, spatulate, terete to laminar, 7–19 × 4.5–10 mm, base not spurred, not scarious, apex rounded or truncate, submucronate, (surfaces papillose marginally).

alternate, patent or appressed, sessile;

blade green, often reddish, not glaucous, linear to ovate, subterete but adaxial surface somewhat flattened, 4–20(–25) × 1–20 mm, base scarcely spurred, not scarious, apex obtuse or rounded, (surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy).

Inflorescences

cymes, ca. 30-flowered, ca. 3-branched;

branches not recurved, forked;

bracts oblong-spatulate or linear, ca. 3 cm, base not spurred.

paniculate cymes, 15–50+-flowered, 3–5-branched;

branches reflexed, forked;

bracts similar to leaves, smaller.

Pedicels

2–8 mm.

3–5 mm.

Flowers

5-merous;

sepals spreading to erect, connate basally, green or yellow-green, glaucous or pruinose, lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, oblong-ovate, or obovate, equal, ca. 2.5 × 1.5 mm, apex acute or obtuse;

petals widely spreading from short, erect base, distinct or slightly connate basally, yellow, linear to oblanceolate, not carinate, 4.5–9 mm, apex acute;

filaments yellow;

anthers yellow;

nectar scales yellow, reniform or nearly square.

5-merous;

sepals erect, connate basally, green, ovate to triangular, equal, 0.5–1.5 × 0.2–0.5 mm, apex acute, (glabrous or sparsely and minutely puberulent);

petals spreading, distinct, white or rarely pink, lanceolate, not carinate, 2–4.5 mm, apex subacute;

filaments white;

anthers red;

nectar scales white or yellow, spatulate.

Carpels

divergent in fruit, connate basally, brown.

erect in fruit, distinct, whitish.

2n

= 30.

= 34, 51, 68, 85, 102, 136.

Sedum spathulifolium

Sedum album

Phenology Flowering summer–fall.
Habitat Calcareous rock ledges, gravelly flat areas, ruderal areas
Elevation 60-1400 m (200-4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; IN; ME; MI; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; UT; WA; WV; BC; NB; ON; QC; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

The mature carpels of Sedum spathulifolium have five ribs and prominent lips along the adaxial suture. The flowers are sweetly fragrant.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Sedum album was first reported as naturalized in the United States in 1934.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Primary rosettes 2.5-3.7 cm diam.; leaf blades not pruinose, glaucous or not, 1.4-2.1 mm thick; flowers 1.2-1.6 cm diam.
var. spathulifolium
1. Primary rosettes 1.5-2.1 cm diam.; leaf blades pruinose, not glaucous, 2.1-2.5 mm thick; flowers 1-1.2 cm diam.
var. pruinosum
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 222. FNA vol. 8, p. 213.
Parent taxa Crassulaceae > Sedum Crassulaceae > Sedum
Sibling taxa
S. acre, S. albomarginatum, S. album, S. annuum, S. borschii, S. cockerellii, S. debile, S. divergens, S. glaucophyllum, S. havardii, S. hispanicum, S. lanceolatum, S. laxum, S. leibergii, S. lineare, S. mexicanum, S. moranii, S. nanifolium, S. nevii, S. niveum, S. nuttallii, S. oblanceolatum, S. obtusatum, S. ochroleucum, S. oreganum, S. oregonense, S. praealtum, S. pulchellum, S. pusillum, S. radiatum, S. robertsianum, S. rupestre, S. rupicola, S. sarmentosum, S. sexangulare, S. stelliforme, S. stenopetalum, S. ternatum, S. villosum, S. wrightii
S. acre, S. albomarginatum, S. annuum, S. borschii, S. cockerellii, S. debile, S. divergens, S. glaucophyllum, S. havardii, S. hispanicum, S. lanceolatum, S. laxum, S. leibergii, S. lineare, S. mexicanum, S. moranii, S. nanifolium, S. nevii, S. niveum, S. nuttallii, S. oblanceolatum, S. obtusatum, S. ochroleucum, S. oreganum, S. oregonense, S. praealtum, S. pulchellum, S. pusillum, S. radiatum, S. robertsianum, S. rupestre, S. rupicola, S. sarmentosum, S. sexangulare, S. spathulifolium, S. stelliforme, S. stenopetalum, S. ternatum, S. villosum, S. wrightii
Subordinate taxa
S. spathulifolium var. pruinosum, S. spathulifolium var. spathulifolium
Name authority Hooker: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 227. (1832) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 432. (1753)
Web links