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Rhodiola rhodantha

Common name:	Queen's Crown	Family:	Crassulaceae
Author:	(A.Gray.)Jacobsen.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Sedum rhodanthum (A.Gray.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - Arizona to Montana.
Habitat:	Moist places in tundra or in meadows and by streams in the Rocky Mountains to 2700 metres[83].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Clementsia rhodantha[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Late Summer Red Coloration - Colorado [S], Queen's Crown, Siempreviva [S], Redpod Stonecrop [P], Skullcap, Wright's [S], Wright's Skullcap [S],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Stonecrop family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.35m. It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained 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 and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked as a potherb[183, 212]. Chopped finely and added to salads[183]. Best used when they are young[83].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a fertile well-drained soil in a sunny position[200]. Established plants are drought tolerant[200].
A good plant for the flower border[83].
This species has pink to white flowers[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].

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, and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in early summer of the following year.
Division in spring or early summer. Very easy, larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Sedum rhodanthum (a possible synonym).

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Crassulaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[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.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[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.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

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