White stonecrop (Sedum album)

Synonyms: Oreosedum album

Common Names: Jelly bean sedum

Description: Able to change based on its environment. Capable of switching between C3 carbon fixation and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) depending on the availability of water.

Habit: Tufted perennial herb that is a creeping, mat-forming, evergreen. Typically grows to 2.8-5 inches tall with a spread of 12-18 inches wide.

Leaves: Alternate, stalkless. Blade blunt-tipped, almost cylindrical, fleshy, glabrous, often reddish.

Stems: Ascending-erect, branched and often brownish red.

Flowers: White in color (sometimes reddish); 0.2-0.4 inches wide; 5 petals, approx 3mm long, round-tipped. Inflorenscence is a dense, umbellate cyme. Blooms from July to August,

Fruit and seeds: 5 united, many-seeded follicles.

Habitat: Nature to Europe, Siberia, western Asian and north Africa. Found along roadsides, shores, fields, and disturbed ground, especially near yards and cemeteries. Can not compete with more vigorous fast-growing species.

Reproduction: By seed.

Similar species: Spanish stonecrop (Sedum hispanicum) and Goldmoss stonecrop (Sedum acre).

Monitoring and rapid response: Hand-pulling, making sure to remove all fragments.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from NatureGate/University of Helsinki, F.J. Castillo "Antioxidative protection in the inducible CAM plant Sedum album L. following the imposition of severe water stress and recover" and the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).

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