TORTUOSUM   Hemsley, 1878

Synonyms :

Sedum nelsonii  Rose (1903)

Sedum salvadorense  Standley (1923) *

Sedum lignicaule  Fröderström (1936)

Type : Parkinson s.n.

Subgenus Sedum

Distribution : Mexico (Sierra Madre del Sur : Guerrero, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala), epiphytic, mostly on oaks, ± 2500 m; San Salvador.

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

Perennial subshrubs with ascending finely papillose stems.

Leaves alternate, oblanceolate or elliptic-spatulate, obtuse, rarely slightly emarginate, minutely spurred, finely papillose at the tip, mostly deciduous, green, 9 - 41 x 4 - 11 mm.

Inflorescences : flowering branches tortuous, ± 20 cm, inflorescences compound dichasial cymes, pedicels 2,4 - 4,8 mm, papillose.

FIowers 5-merous, sepals minutely spurred, very unequal, oblong, oblong-elliptic, lanceolate or ovate, obtuse or acute, green, 1,7 - 7,7 x 0,8 - 2,4 mm, spreading, petals basally slightly connate, lanceolate, acute, mucronate, carinate, white with green dorsal keel, ± 7 mm, spreading, anthers yellow, sometimes red.

Cytology : 2n = 30, 32

* 2013 Ruiz & Linares published an article on the rediscovery of S. salvadorense Standl. in the state of El Salvador. Their description and photos reveal that it is identical with S. tortuosum Hemsley. Therefore it is now listed in the synonymy of the latter.