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Sedum spurium - M.Bieb.

Caucasian Stonecrop

Author	M.Bieb.	Botanical references	200
Family	Crassulaceae	Genus	Sedum
Synonyms	Sedum ciliare - Sweet. Sedum congestum - C.Koch. ex Boiss. Sedum crenatum - Boiss. Sedum dentatum - DC. Sedum denticulatum - Donn. Sedum lazicum - Boiss.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	E. Europe - Caucasus. A garden escape in Britain[50].
Habitat	Rocks in moist regions in the middle and upper alpine zones[83].
Edibility Rating	1 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Perennial growing to 0.15m by 0.5m.

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.

Habitats

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

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked. The leaves are thick and juicy but somewhat astringent and with a slight bitterness[K].

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.

None known

Other Uses

Ground cover.

Can be used as a ground cover plant in a sunny position[197, 208]. It requires weeding for the first year or so[197].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils[188] but prefers a fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position[200]. Established plants are drought tolerant[200]. Tolerates poor soils. Hardy to about -5°c[200]. A mat-forming plant, it is very invasive[83]. The flowers of this species are white or pink[200]. All members of this genus are said to have edible leaves, though those species 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. 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.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. 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.

[83] Evans. R. L. Handbook of Cultivated Sedums. Science Reviews 1983
Deals with the genus Sedum. Fairly easy reading, it gives cultivation details and some notes on habitats.

[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.

[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.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[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.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[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.

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 spurium

Klaus Dichtel Fri Jan 4 19:32:42 2002

OK, it is hardy in zone 7, OK, it has green leaves all year and they are edible. But after -7°C only the youngest 4 leaves on the tips of the branches are still green and unrotten. They are only together about 6 mm in diameter and it doesn´t make sense to harvest them, because they`re so fiddly.

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