#43. Pacific Stonecrop

Sedum spathulifolium

Closeup of the flower of a stonecrop at right.

Family:

Stonecrop Family

Characteristics:

1. All stonecrops have a very distinctive characteristic, in that their leaves are fat and fleshy in cross-section. Most of the leaves are basal and radiate outward from the base of the stem. These leaves are oval or round in shape, with a long stem that tapers gradually until it connects to the stem. The leaves may be blue-green to a purplish-gray mix of color. The stem leaves are smaller and thinner.

2. The 5 petals are long and thin, and pointed at the end. The flowers look like bright, dime-sized yellow stars.

3. The plants range from 2 to 12 inches in height.

4. Individual leaves may break off and grow into new (cloned) plants.

5. Stonecrops also create runners or ground stems, which grow new, baby plants intermittently along the runner.

Habitat:

Stonecrops usually grow on open, rocky slopes.

Importance:

1. Stonecrops are widely used as groundcover plants in dry, sunny gardens.

2. The entire plant is edible. The leaves have a bland cucumber taste, and can be eaten fresh as a trail snack. Because the leaves stay fleshy all year, the American Indians used it as an important winter survival food.