Stonecrop Crooked Yellow

November 15th, 2009

Botanical Name: Sedum reflexum
Family: N.O. Crassulaceae
Synonym: Stonecrop Houseleek.
Other Names: Sedum reflexum or Sedum rupestre, Reflexed Stonecrop, Blue Stonecrop, Jenny’s Stonecrop and
Kingdom: Plantae
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Saxifragales
Genus: Sedum
Species: S. reflexum
Parts Used: Leaves, young shoots.
The Stonecrop Houseleek of the old herbalists goes now by the name of Crooked Yellow Stonecrop.
Habitat: C. W. and S. Europe. Naturalized in Britain. Walls, shingle and warm grassy places on sandy soils.Ground Cover; Cultivated Beds; East Wall In; South Wall In; West Wall In; Avoids acid soils.

Description: It is a species of succulent plant of the genus Sedum. The plants are typically up to 10 cm high, resembling spruce branches, but with softer tissue. Like most other Sedum species, it grows in small bushes, spreading on the ground. It is a popular ornamental plant, grown in gardens or houses. Sedum is prone to fasciation (cristate forms), which produces attractive cactus-like form, with irregular curves, but it reverts easily, so all normal offshoots must be removed quickly in order to maintain the form.

It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies, Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Sedum reflexum -1 .. Sedum reflexum.jpg-2

It is not considered truly indigenous, though often found on rocks, old walls, house-tops, and sometimes on dry banks, in many parts of the British Isles. The slender but tough stems, tinged with pink, are elongated, lying on the ground, sending up numerous ascending, short, leafy, barren shoots and erect, and somewhat flexuous flowering stems, 9 inches to 1 foot high, clothed with spreading and reflexed leaves, which are cylindrical and pointed, 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, spurred at their bases. The leaves are distant towards the lower ends of the barren shoots, but crowded towards the apex, forming a kind of tuft: they are only curved back, or reflexed, on the flowering stems. This Stonecrop also blossoms in July and August: the flowers are in terminal cymes as in the previous species, but are bright yellow.

In Holland, the leaves and young shoots of this species are used for salad.

Culpepper considered that as ‘it is more frequent than the white stonecrop, flowering at the same time, it may very well supply its place.’ He goes on to tell us that the Houseleek, ‘though not given inwardly, yet is recommended by some to quench thirst in fever.’ Mixed with posset drink, 3 OZ. of the juice of this and Persicaria maculata, boiled to the consistence of a julep, are recommended to allay the heat of inflammation.

Uses
Ground cover.
A good ground cover plant for a sunny position. The somewhat open growth habit makes it suitable for growing with larger bulbs such as some lilies[K].

Cultivation details
Succeeds in most soils but prefers a fertile well-drained soi. Requires a sunny position. The plant flowers best when grown in a sunny position, though it also succeeds in semi-shade . Established plants are very drought tolerant, they grow well in dry soils and can also be grown in a crevice on a wall[200, 219]. This species is hardy to about -15°c . A mat forming plant, it spreads rapidly and it is not suitable for the rockery . All members of this genus are said to have edible leaves, though those species, such as this one, 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.Click to see :How to Plant Sedum Reflexum

Propagation
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[K]. 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:...Not Koown.

Resource:

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

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

http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Sedum+rupestre