STELLATUS   (L.) Rafinesque, 1817

Synonyms :

Sedum stellatum  L. (1753) / Anacampseros stellata  (L.) Haworth (1812) / Asterosedum stellatum  (L.) Grulich (1984)

Sedum uniflorum  Rafinesque (1810)  / Phedimus uniflorus  (Rafinesque) Rafinesque (1817)

Sedum deltoideum  Tenore (1815)

Subgenus Phedimus

Distribution : Central and eastern Mediterranean Region (southern France, Italy, Balkan, Greece, Turkey); naturalized in England (Somerset).

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

Annual glabrous herbs with erect or ascending stout, simple or branched, sometimes papillose (upper part) stems 3 - 15 cm long.

Leaves opposite or sometirnes alternate in the upper part, shortly petiolate or spatulate, obovate to orbicular, 7 - 20 mm, entire, sparingly crenate or bluntly dentate, sometimes papillose.

Inflorescences dense cymes with (1-) 5 - 15 (-25) flowers on (1-) 2 - 3 (-4) usually simple cincinni, bracts large, spatulate to oblong, ± 5 mm.

Flowers (4- to) 5-merous, (sub-) sessile, sepals basally connate to 1 mm, erect, broadly linear to lanceolate, papillose at the tip, 4 - 6 mm, petals basally free, oblong, broadly mucronate, 4 - 5 mm, white, pink or purplish-red, anthers red.

Cytology : 2n = 10

Artificially obtained hybrids with P. stoloniferus (2n = 13) were annual and sterile.

The name refers to the fruit rather than the flowers. (R. Stephenson)