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Crassulaceae FAMILY

Sedum sediforme

Sedum sediforme

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[1]. This is most likely to happen with species that have yellow flowers, though eating large quantities of any species could be problematic[2, 3].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
Growth—

Sedum sediforme is not a very cold-hardy plant, tolerating occasional temperatures down to around -8°c when dormant[4]. Succeeds in most soils[5] but prefers a fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position[4]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[4]. They grow well in dry soils and can be grown on a wall[4]. The plant is often grown as an ornamental, there are some named forms[6]. A polymorphic plant, it is very variable in size[7]. The plant has been known to live for at least 30 years in cultivation[6]. The flowers of this species are straw-yellow to a greeny-white[4]. 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[2, 3]. Species in this genus are often specially targeted by slugs[4]. Plants in this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[8].

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[PFAF]. 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. Most parts of the plant can produce new roots and develop into a new plant if separated from the parent plant[6]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sedum+sediforme>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Poisonous Plants of North Carolina — http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm ↩︎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.
  2. [2]A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. — Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. · Van Nostrand Reinhold · 1982 · ISBN 0442222009 ↩︎Very readable.
  3. [3]Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. — Harrington. H. D. · 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.
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · 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.
  5. [5]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  6. [6]Sedum sediforme subsp. Dianium, an endemic Mediterranean succulent with a restricted distribution — Ortiz D.G.; Lumbreras E.L. · 2015 ↩︎
  7. [7]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  8. [8]Perennial Garden Plants — Thomas. G. S. · 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.
  9. [9]Flowers of the Mediterranean. — Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. · Hogarth Press · 1987 · ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 ↩︎A very readable pocket flora that is well illustrated. Gives some information on plant uses.
  10. [10]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  11. [11]Anti-Haemolytic, Antioxidant and Xanthine Oxidase inhibitory Effect of Sedum Sediforme Shoot Extracts — Hayat Trabsa; Sabah Boumarfegue; Abderrahmane Baghiani; Naou · 2014 · ISBN 2051-4263 ↩︎
  12. [12]Urban Herbs — Adriane Fugh-Berman MD. · Georgetown University School of Medicine · https://sites.google.com/a/georgetown.edu/urban-herbs/ ↩︎A website with information on over 60 medicinal herb species grown at Georgetown University
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎