Sedum

GRANDIPETALUM  Fröderström, 1936

Distribution : Mexico (W Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt : Jalisco); ± 2500 m.

 

 

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

 

Glabrous perennial herbs, epiphytic, densely leafy, with cone-shaped rosettes at the base of the stems.

 

Leaves alternate, lanceolate, elliptic-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, obtuse, falcate, with 2 spurs at the base and clasping the stems, sometimes slightly papillose marginally, glaucous, green, 7,5 - 21 x 3,5 -8 mm.

 

Inflorescences : Flowering branches prostrate or pendulous, 11-41 cm, inflorescences cymes with 2 - 4 recurved branches, pedicels ± 2,5 mm.

 

Flowers 5- (rarely 4- or 6-) merous, sepals sessile, rarely shortly spurred, basally slightly connate, unequal, lanceolate or elliptic-oblong, obtuse, 3,1 – 8,8 x 1,7 – 3,3 mm, erect, petals free or slightly connate, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, acute or obtuse, minutely mucronate, glaucous dorsally, yellow, ± 7,5 mm, spreading , anthers yellow.

 

Cytology : 2n = 68.

 

 

Ray Stephenson (Sedum, Cultivated Stonecrops, 1994, pp 250 - 251) :

 

Very similar in habit to the well-known Sedum greggii, S. grandipetalum produces small conelike buds of fairly flat, imbricate leaves on stems after flowering. The buds overwinter in this state and elongate next season to arch and then fall. Leaves have trilobate spurs and are glaucous-green with papillose margins. They resemble fish scales. Flowers on tumbling inflorescences are, as the species name suggests, large and produced in quantity. Petals are light yellow. A plant in flower is most graceful though rarely seen in cultivation.

 

Habitat : Southwest Jalisco on the Western Sierra Madre on mossy cliffs at about 2500 m (8200 ft) is the home of this stonecrop.

 

Main points of dictinction : Differentiating this species from Sedum greggii is difficult, though the latter is bright glabrous yellow-green rather than glaucous blue-green. Sepals of S. grandipetalum are free, small, spurred, and uneven, while those of S. greggii are even. n = 34

 

Variation : The species appears to be constant.

 

Horticulture : Small propagules form near the ends of inflorescences making propagation easy. Avoid baking plants under glass. Athough perfect drainage is recommended, plants appreciate regular watering in summer. A better show is produced if specimens are grown in hanging baskets, to display the beauty of the pendulous stems and inflorescences.

 

Conelike buds of Sedum grandipetalum measure about 5 cm (2 in) long.

Photo Ray Stephenson

« back