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BotanicalName:: Sedum album
Family: N.O. Crassulaceae
Synonym: Small Houseleek (Culpepper).
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Saxifragales
Genus: Sedum
Species: S. album
Parts Used: Leaves, stalks.
Habitat:Native to Western Europe.  It is not very common, and is found wild on rocks and walls. As a rule, however, when growing on garden walls and the roofs of cottages and outhouses, it owes its presence indirectly to human agency, and is to be considered a garden escape.

Description:
Sedum album or White stonecrop, is a flowering plant of the genus Sedum in the family Crassulaceae. Sedum album is able to acclimate according to the environment. The left plant below, grew on top of the wall and therefore had access to less water and fewer nutrients; the right plant however grew at the bottom of the wall and therefore had greater amounts of water and nutrients. The plant at the bottom was therefore able to grow faster. The plant on top of the wall may be red due to plant lacking water and therefore having to synthesise carotenoids to protect it from photoinhibition. Sedum album is also able to switch between C3 carbon fixation and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) depending on the availability of water. CAM saves water as the stomata only open to allow CO2 to diffuse into the leaves at night when the temperature (and therefore evaporation) is lower.
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White Stonecrop is semi-creeping and bears white flowers in mid- to late summer. The plant is an evergreen and can be used as a ground cover. This sedum grows best in sun and a light sandy soil. The plant tolerates shade but  flowering is reduced.

Evergreen trailing perennial, up to 4 inches tall (10 cm).The root is perennial and fibrous, the flowerless stems prostrate, of a bluish-green colour, round and leafy. The leaves are bright green and very succulent, oblong, cylindrical, blunt and spreading, 1/3 to 1/2 inch long. The flowering stems are 6 to 10 inches high, with a few leaves growing alternately on them and terminated by muchbranched, flat tufts (cymes) of numerous, small, star-like flowers, about 1/6 inch in diameter, the white petals twice as large as the green sepals.

This Stonecrop, which flowers in July and August, is not to be confounded with another white-flowered Stonecrop (Sedum Anglicum), which flowers earlier – June and July – and is an annual. It is a plant of smaller and compacter growth, the leaves shorter and less cylindrical, with less numerous flowers, the white petals of which are spotted with red.

The White Stonecrop is said to be indigenous in the Malvern Hills and Somerset, but a garden escape elsewhere, being grown as rock-plants.

S. Anglicum is abundant on the bank of a hedge close to Poole Harbour.

Cultivation details
A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils but prefers a fertile well-drained soil. Established plants are drought tolerant, they grow well in dry soils and succeed on a wall. Requires a sunny position. Plants spread rapidly and aggressively at the roots. If clearing the plant from an area it is quite important to try and remove every part of the plant since even a leaf or a small part of the stem, if left on the ground, can form roots and develop into a new plant. This species has white flowers. All members of this genus are said to have edible leaves, though those species that have yellow flowers can cause stomach upsets if they are eaten in quantity. Plants in this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits.

Propagation ropagate by seed or division..
Seed – surface sow in spring in well-drained soil in a sunny position in a greenhouse. Do not allow the soil to dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If sufficient growth is made, it is possible to plant them out during the summer, otherwise keep them in a cold-frame or greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in early summer of the following year. Division is very easy and can be carried out at almost any time in the growing season, though is probably best done in spring or early summer. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Medicinal Uses:-Antiinflammatory; Poultice.

The leaves and stems are applied externally as a poultice to inflammations and are especially recommended for treating painful haemorrhoids.

The older herbalists considered the White Stonecrop to possess all the virtues of the Houseleek. The leaves and stalks were recommended and used for all kinds of inflammation, being especially applied as a cooling plaster to painful haemorrhoids. Culpepper tells us: ‘it is so harmless an herb you can scarce use it amiss.’ It was the custom, too, to prepare and eat it as a pickle, in the same way as the juicy Samphire.

Other Uses:-
Ground cover.
The plant spreads aggressively and can be used for ground cover in a sunny position amongst plants tall enough not to be overrun by it. It is best planted about 45cm apart each way[208]. Strong growing bulbs such as some lilies will grow happily through this ground cover.

Disclaimer:The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider .

Resources:

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/stonec91.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedum_album

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Crassulaceae/Sedum_album.html

http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00001346.html

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