Sedum

LACONICUM ssp. LACONICUM

Synonyms :

Sedum laconicum var. insulare Rechinger fil. (1943) / Sedum laconicum ssp. insulare (Rechinger fil.) Greuter & Rechinger fil. (1967)

Sedum idaeum D. A. Webb (1961).

Distribution : Greece incl. Crete; limestone, usually at higher altitudes.

Description (according to IHSP 2003) :

Petals yellow.

Cytology: 2n = 16.

Var. insulare from the mountains of Crete (Levka Ori) is a diminutive form with flowering stems 1 - 4 (-6) cm long and inflorescences with very few flowers. It merely represents an extreme of a by and large continuous morphological series. Generally, the typical ssp. oc-curs over ± 1000 m, except in the southern part of the Peleponnisos and on Kithira where it descends to sea-level.

*Sedum laconicum* only grows at the very top of Lefkada, unfortunately in a military zone where photography is strictly forbidden. Don't know who took these photos! Plants grow in deep limestone clefts and are here seen in September when they are passed flowering and much past their best.

Ray Stephenson

Plant in cultivation

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