''Hylotelephium spectabile'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Sedum spectabile'') is a species of flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, native to China and Korea. Its common names include showy stonecrop, iceplant, and butterfly stonecrop.

Description

Growing to tall and broad, it is an

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial with alternate, simple, toothed leaves on erect, unbranched

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

stems and has a tuber root

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. The leaves are usually arranged opposite or in threes, simple and more or less wedge-shaped at the base, and frosted blue above; they are 2.5 to 10 cm long and 0.8 to 5 cm wide. The leaf margin is smooth or serrated towards the tip. Stipules are missing. The star-shaped pink flowers are borne in flat cymes across from summer until first frost. The many-flowered, zymous inflorescence is about 7 to 11 cm wide. The

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

, radially symmetrical flowers have a diameter of about 1 cm and are usually five-fold. The sepals are about 1 cm long. The petals are (rarely 5) usually 6 to 8.5 millimeters long. There are two circles 6 to 8 mm long

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, which are significantly longer than the petals. The

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s are purple. The free carpels are about 3 mm long. The

stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

is about 1.2 mm long. This self-fertile species is pollinated by insects. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''spectabile'' means "showy".

Cultivation

This plant is valued in cultivation, and numerous

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

have been produced. The species and the cultivar 'Brilliant' have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. It was introduced to France in the mid-1860s. Easily grown in pots, it is widely used in decorative beds, rock gardens in particular, or in pots, especially in China where this plant is very widespread. Its flower is used by florists in the composition of bouquets. It is a full sun, drought tolerant, cold- tolerant honeycomb plant (down to -15 ° C when fully established). This sedum multiplies by division in spring.

Chemistry

It has also been widely used as a laboratory plant where it is studied got its synthesis of

sedoheptulose Sedoheptulose or pseudoheptulose or D-''altro''-heptulose is a ketoheptose—a monosaccharide with seven carbon atoms and a ketone functional group. It is one of the few heptoses found in nature, and is found in various fruits and vegetabl ...

Phytopurification Most organisms involved in water purification originate from the waste, wastewater or water stream itself or arrive as resting spore of some form from the atmosphere. In a very few cases, mostly associated with constructed wetlands, specific or ...

and

phytostabilisation Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to clean up soil, air and water contaminated with hazardous contaminants. It is defined as "the use of green plants and the associated microorganisms, along with proper soil amendments and agronomi ...

of soils: the effects of heavy metals on the plant and their kinetics in the parts of the plants have been studied.

References

External links

BBC plant finderMissouri Botanical GardenPlants for a Future
{{Taxonbar, from=Q922370 spectabile Succulent plants Garden plants