ALFREDII Hance, 1870

Synonyms :

Sedum stellatum  Loureiro (s.a.)

Sedum formosae  Gray in sched. (s.a.)

Distribution : Japan (Kyushu, Ryukyu), Korea, Tibet, China, Philippines; lowlands to 3000 m.

Description (by 't Hart & Bleij in IHSP, 2003) :

Perennial or annual herbs (no vegetative shoots present).

Leaves alternate or opposite, ± crowded, broadly spatulate-oblong to obovate, subacute, obtuse or retuse, 5 - 15 mm, sometimes mamillate towards the tip.

Inflorescences : Flowering branches numerous, ascending, slender, tufted, 10 - 20 cm, inflorescences lax cymes with ± 3 cincinni, bracts leaf-like, ovate.

FIowers 5-merous, sessile, sepals basally free, shortly spurred, unequal, broadly oblanceolate to semi-oblong, subacute to retuse, 2,5 -  5 mm, petals narrowly lanceolate to semi-oblong, shortly mucronate, yellowish, 4 - 5 mm.

Cytology : 2n = 124

Most probably hapaxanth and now and again propagating through rooting non-flowering branches. Fröderström (1930) included S. bulbiferum and S. makinoi in S. alfredii as separate subspecies, and according to Fu & Fu (1984), S. formosanum is also conspecific. Pending further studies, all these taxa are kept as separate species for the time being.

Note :

The recently published  S. jinglanii from Mount Danxia, Guangdong, China, differs from S. alfredii only in having opposite instead of alternate and somewhat wider leaves and in having somewhat smaller in floral parts. Its classification as a distinct species therefore seems doubtful.