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Sedum telephium

Common name:	Orpine	Family:	Crassulaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:	Sedum purpureum ((L.)Link.), Sedum fabaria (Koch.), Sedum carpaticum (Reuss.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, incl Britain, south and east from Scandanavia to the Pyrenees, temperate Asia, N. America.
Habitat:	Hedge banks and the shady sides of damp woods[1, 4, 67].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Hylotelephium telephium[B,G] Hylotelephium telephium ssp. fabaria[B] Hylotelephium telephium ssp. telephium[B] Hylotelephium telephium subsp. fabaria[G] S. telephium ssp. fabaria[B,P] S. telephium ssp. purpureum[B,P] S. telephium ssp. telephium[P] S. telephium subsp. fabaria[G] S. telephium var. borderi[G] S. triphyllum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Crausse Fouye [E], Erba De' Calli [E], Hemelsleutel [D], Hierba Callera [E], Janeksenkaali [E], Life Everlasting [E], Live Forever [E], Live-forever Stonecrop [L], Orpin Repris [E], Orpine [L], Orpine Stonecrop [H], Witch's Moneybags [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	telephium = from the Greek name for some succulent plant;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Stonecrop family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Belgium; Britain; Finland; France; Germany; Italy; Spain; Us(Ny)

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.45m by 0.3m . It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. 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 Bees and flies. The plant is self-fertile. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 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 can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedgerow, Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Walls.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Root.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 12, 55, 66, 115, 183]. They have occasionally been used in salads[4].
Root - cooked. Used in soups, stews etc[12].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Cytostatic; Skin.

The whole plant is astringent and cytostatic[4, 66]. It is a popular remedy for diarrhoea, stimulates the kidneys and has a reputation in the treatment of cancer[4]. A poultice of the crushed leaves has been used in the treatment of boils and carbuncles[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils[188] but prefers a fertile well-drained soil that is not too dry[187]. Tolerates poor soils[233]. Succeeds in most soils and is tolerant of quite deep shade[219]. Established plants are drought tolerant[190], they grow well in dry soils and can be grown in crevices on walls[219].
Hardy to about -20°c[187].
This species has pink to red 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].
Polymorphic, intergrading with S. caucasicum where their ranges meet.
Plants in this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].

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[K].
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.
Cuttings can be taken at almost any time in the growing season, though early in the season is probably best.

Suppliers

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

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Hylotelephium telephium (a possible synonym).

[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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Hylotelephium telephium ssp. fabaria (a possible synonym).

[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.

References for Hylotelephium telephium ssp. telephium (a possible synonym).

[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.

References for Hylotelephium telephium subsp. fabaria (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Sedum purpureum (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Sedum telephium ssp. fabaria (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Sedum telephium ssp. telephium (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for sedum telephium (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[55] Harris. B. C. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health 1973
Interesting reading.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[66] Freethy. R. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press 1985 ISBN 0-946284-51-2
Very readable, giving details on plant uses based on the authors own experiences.

[67] Ahrendt. Berberis and Mahonia. Journal of the Linnean Society, 57 1961
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.

[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.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[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.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[190] Chatto. B. The Dry Garden. Dent 1982 ISBN 0460045512
A good list of drought resistant plants with details on how to grow them.

[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.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants 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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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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
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