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Sedum acre - L.

Common Stonecrop

Author	L.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Crassulaceae	Genus	Sedum
Synonyms
Known Hazards	Poisonous[19]? The sap can irritate the skin of some people[76]. Other reports suggest that no members of this genus are poisonous[62, 85]. The flowers are yellow which suggests that in quantity the leaves can cause stomach upsets.
Range	E. Europe - Balkans. Long naturalized in Britain[17].
Habitat	Dry sunny situations on rocks, roofs, walls etc, especially near the sea[4, 7, 19]. Often found on limestone hills, it avoids acid soils[17].
Edibility Rating	1 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Perennial growing to 0.05m by 0.3m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Ground Cover; East Wall In; South Wall In; West Wall In;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Edible Uses: Condiment.

Leaves - raw or cooked[13, 100]. Rich in vitamin C, but it has a bitter acrid taste[1, 244]. The main interest in the edible qualities of this plant is as a survival food, since it grows wild in the driest deserts as well as in arctic conditions[244]. Large quantities can cause stomach upsets[19]. It is best to dry the leaves (which can be difficult because they are very fleshy) and then powder them and use them to add a peppery taste to foods[244]. The leaves are dried and ground into a powder to make a spicy seasoning[183].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Astringent; Foot care; Hypotensive; Laxative; Rubefacient; Vermifuge; Vulnerary.

The herb is astringent, hypotensive, laxative, rubefacient, vermifuge and vulnerary[4, 7, 9, 13, 46]. It is considered to be a useful medicinal plant by some herbalists, though others do not use it because of the violence of its operation when taken internally[4, 7]. One of its best uses is as an effective and harmless corn-remover, it can also be used to bring boils to a head, though this can also cause some local irritation[7]. The bruised fresh plant is applied as a poultice to wounds and minor burns[9], though some care should be exercised because the plant can cause blisters or skin irritations[244]. The herb is difficult to dry and so is best used when fresh, it can be gathered at any time during the spring and summer[7]. A homeopathic remedy is made from the plant[9]. It is used in the treatment of piles and anal irritations[9].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

The plant spreads aggressively and can be used for ground cover in a sunny position amongst plants tall enough not to be overrun by it. Many species of the stronger-growing bulbs such as lilies can grow successfully through it[K].

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils[188] but prefers a sunny position in a fertile well-drained soil[200]. Established plants are drought tolerant[190]. Grows well on walls[190]. Plants can be very aggressive and invasive, spreading freely at the roots[200]. If clearing the plant from an area it is quite important to try and remove every part of the plant since even a small part of the stem, if left in the ground, can form roots and develop into a new plant[200]. All members of this genus are said to have edible leaves, though those species, such as this one, that have yellow flowers can cause stomach upsets if they are eaten in quantity[62, 85]. Plants in this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in spring in well-drained soil in a sunny position in a greenhouse. Do not allow the soil to dry out. It can also be sown in the autumn in a cold frame, some seed germinates immediately whilst others germinate in the spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If sufficient growth is made, it is possible to plant them out during the summer, otherwise keep them in a cold-frame or greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in early summer of the following year[K]. Division is very easy and can be carried out at almost any time in the growing season, though is probably best done in spring or early summer. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: Ground cover plants..

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[19] Stary. F. Poisonous Plants. Hamlyn 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3
Not very comprehensive, but easy reading.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[76] Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. HMSO 1984 ISBN 0112425291
Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[100] Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press 1969 ISBN 0192176218
An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Sedum acre

Charles Espey Mon Feb 20 2006

Sedum acre is aggressively invading coastal strand plant communities and displacing native species in the Puget Trough of Washington State.USA.

Sedum acre

Jane Morris Tue May 13 2008

we visitors from birchfields park forest garden tasted this at bangor forest garden on Sunday, they rated its leaves we found them tasty, just bitter to some people's taste

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