Crassulaceae FAMILY

Hylotelephium telephium

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

All species in the genus Sedum (including the closely allied genera such as Hylotelephium and Phedimus) have more or less edible leaves and young flowering stems, though they are not always totally desireable with several species having bitter, acrid or peppery flavours! However, the plants contain various alkaloids including sedine and sedamine. These can sometimes cause gastric upsets, usually of a mild nature[ 293 Title Poisonous Plants of North Carolina Publication Author Website http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes. ]. This is most likely to happen with species that have yellow flowers, though eating large quantities of any species could be problematic[ 62 Title A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Publication Author Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. Publisher Van Nostrand Reinhold Year 1982 ISBN 0442222009 Description Very readable. , 85 Title Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. Publication Author Harrington. H. D. Publisher University of New Mexico Press Year 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9 Description A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants. ].

Botanical Description

Hylotelephium telephium is a herbaceous perennial plant producing a cluster of stems 20 - 90cm tall from a short rootstock with a cluster of white, tuberous, carrotlike roots. Axillary buds, which are sometimes produced on the stem, can fall and take root[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine, and also for use as an ingredient in commercial skin conditioning preparations. It is planted in 'green roof' systems in order to insulated buildings and provide wildlife habitats, and is also often grown as an ornamental,

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeThroughout Europe except for parts of the Balkans, Ireland, Iceland and Sicily

HabitatHedge banks and the shady sides of damp woods[ 1 Title RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Publication Author F. Chittendon. Publisher Oxford University Press Year 1951 ISBN - Description Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]). , 4 Title A Modern Herbal. Publication Author Grieve. Publisher Penguin Year 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 Description Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants. , 67 Title Berberis and Mahonia. Publication Author Ahrendt. Publisher Journal of the Linnean Society, 57 Year 1961 ISBN - Description Not for the casual reader, it lists all the known species in these two genera together with botanic descriptions and other relevant details for the botanist. ]. Mostly sandy or solonetz soils, pine forests; as a weed in fields, among shrubs in forest[ 74 Title Flora of the USSR. Publication Author Komarov. V. L. Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Israel Program for Scientific Translation Year 1968 ISBN - Description An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ].