Sedum album

Sedum album

The white stonecrop or small houseleek (Sedum album L.) is a succulent species belonging to the Crassulaceae family.

Systematics –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota Domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Spermatophyta superdivision,
Magnoliophyta Division,
Magnoliopsida class,
Subclass Rosidae,
Rosales Order,
Crassulaceae family,
Genus Sedum,
Species S. album.
The terms are synonymous:
– Leucosedum album (L.) Fourr.;
– Oreosedum album (L.) Grulich;
– Oreosedum serpentini (Janch.) Grulich;
– Sedum albellum Willk.;
– Sedum album var. album L., 1753;
– Sedum album var. erythranthum Halácsy & Bald.;
– Sedum album var. pallens Hartm.;
– Sedum angulatum Mast.;
– Sedum athoum DC.;
– Sedum chrisianum Mast.
– Sedum clusianum Guss.;
– Sedum gombertii Sennen;
– Sedum micranthum Bastard ex DC.;
– Sedum paniculatum Kit. ex Jáv., 1936
– Sedum serpentini Janch.;
– Sedum teretifolium Lam.;
– Sedum turgidum Ramond ex DC.
– Sedum vermiculifolium P.Fourn..
Within this species, some subspecies and varieties are recognized, of which the following are reported:
– Sedum album L. subsp. micranthum (Bast ex DC.) Syme;
– Sedum album L. subsp. clusianum Guss;
– Sedum album L. subsp. pentandrum (DC.) Boreau (1849) (sinonimo di S. album L. subsp paniculatum Kit. ex Jáv. (1936));
– Sedum album subsp. rupi-melitense Mifsud, R.Stephenson & Thiede;
– Sedum album subsp. serpentini (Janch.) Barina;
– Sedum album L. var. balticum Hartman fil..

Etymology –
The term Sedum comes from itself to calm, for the leaves of some species that would alleviate the pain of wounds.
The specific epithet album comes from albus, white referring to the flowers, leaves, bark or other parts of the plant; in this case to the flowers.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Sedum album is a plant that grows in a vast area of ​​Eurasia, from Norway to Portugal (naturalized in Great Britain), east to Ukraine, the Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon and Syria; North Africa, from Morocco to Libya. It is also present elsewhere such as in North America.
In Italy it is common throughout the territory and is found on arid and poor soils in general, cliffs and sunny walls between 0 and 2000 m a.s.l.
Its habitat is usually that of rocky areas, walls, cobbled paths, etc., in sunny and dry areas, both on acidic and calcareous soils.

Description –
The white stonecrop is a small succulent herbaceous plant, creeping and perennial, evergreen, which grows up to a height no greater than 20 cm.
The roots are superficial and thin produced by stolons.
The stems are fat but fragile and twisted, reddish in color, with average dimensions between 8 and 20 cm, which are divided into two types:
– sterile: they are abundantly leafy, but rather prostrate;
– floriferous: they are more ascending and higher (slightly curved before the inflorescence) with few leaves.
The leaves are oblong, alternate, glabrous, obtuse, sessile, without spurs as in other species, erect – patent, cylindrical – fleshy (on the upper side they are a little flattened); they have a light green color that fades towards red at the end of the season and with a diameter of 1 – 1.5 mm and a length of 5 – 9 mm.
The flowers are pedunculated, arranged in corimbose multiflore tops. The petals are 5, white, sometimes with pink streaks. The stamens are 10 and the styles 5. They are briefly pedunculated (the color of the peduncle is reddish; length of the peduncle: 2 mm), hermaphroditic, actinomorphic, dialipetal, pentamer and white or pink with reddish streaks. The dimensions of the diameter are 1 – 1.5 cm.
The calyx is formed by rather fleshy and reddish sepals which are welded to the base (gamosepals) and with a size of 1 mm.
The corolla is composed of 5 oblong petals of the size of 5 mm.
The androceum is made up of 10 stamens (usually two for each petal).
The antesis is between June and July and the pollination is entomophilous, through bees and flies.
The fruit is an elongated and narrow follicle in an upright position. Each flower produces 5 in starry arrangement.

Cultivation –
Sedum album is an evergreen perennial with fibrous roots and a creeping rhizome that tends to produce a carpet.
The plant is also harvested in its natural state for local use as food and medicine. It is also grown for use in “green roofing” systems; it is occasionally cultivated as a medicinal and food plant; and sometimes it is also cultivated as an ornamental plant, where it can be used as a ground cover species.
Sedum album is a moderately cold hardy plant that tolerates temperatures down to around -20 ° C when in a dormant state.
For cultivation it requires a sunny position even if it tolerates partial shade.
In general it is a very easy plant to grow that grows in most soils but prefers a fertile and well-drained soil; once established the plants are very resistant to drought and can grow on rocks, walls, dry stone walls, etc.
It is a plant that tends to spread rapidly, so if you want to clean up the area of ​​this plant, it is necessary to remove all vegetative parts.
Propagation can occur by seed. Sowing should be done in spring, possibly in sunny and well drained soils.
It can be sown both in open fields (sometimes as ground cover species) or also in seedbeds and subsequent transplantation in open fields or on cracks in walls, rocks, etc.
Another faster method of propagation is that by division which can be carried out at any time of the growing season, although the period of spring or early summer is recommended.
Remember that individual leaves, when detached from the plant, often form roots and develop a new plant.

Customs and Traditions –
Sedum album is a plant that was already used in ancient times to treat wounds and burns. The leaves generally have anti-inflammatory properties.
This plant contains various alkaloids including sedin and sedamine which can sometimes cause stomach upset, usually mild in nature.
The concentration of these alkaloids is variable and tends to increase when it is in the phase of greater maturity.
Among the edible uses it is reported that in some areas the leaves are consumed both raw and cooked and usually eaten as pickles, or they can be added to salads or cooked with other leafy vegetables.
However, given the presence of some slightly toxic compounds, their use is not recommended.
For medicinal use, both the leaves and the stems are used, which are applied externally as a compress to inflammation and are particularly suitable for the treatment of painful hemorrhoids.
Other uses include agroforestry ones.
It is a fast spreading plant and can be used for ground cover in sunny areas. In this case it is advisable to plant them about 45 cm away from each other.
The plant can grow in very low humidity levels and has been used as a green cover on roofs or incorporated in part of buildings.

Preparation Method –
White stonecrop is a plant that has been used for some time for both food and medicinal purposes, while in recent times its use has increased as a ground cover species or as a roof for buildings to increase energy performance.
In the food use the leaves are used while in the medicinal one both the leaves and the stems are used.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora of Italy, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.
Photo source:
– https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/176568206/original.jpeg

Warning: Pharmaceutical applications and alimurgical uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; therefore no responsibility is taken for their use for curative, aesthetic or food purposes.