Sedum eriocarpum explained

Sedum eriocarpum, the purple stonecrop, is a small, annual, succulent herb, 3–6 cm high, with hairless, reddish-green stems. Leaves succulent, simple, entire, spirally arranged, hairless, stalkless, elliptical to oblong, 3–15 x 2–8 mm, green or green-reddish. Flowers actinomorphic, petals white with purplish keel. It flowers from March to May and the fruit is a follicle.^[1]

Distribution and habitat

Sedum eriocarpum has been recorded in mainland Greece, Turkey, the Levant and the islands of the eastern Mediterranean. It is found on rocky and stony hillsides on limestone formations at 0–600 m elevation.

Subspecies

9 subspecies are accepted.

• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. apertiflorum – northern and central Greece
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. caricum (synonym S. caricum) – Turkey and Rhodes
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. cycladicum – Aegean Islands
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. delicum (synonyms S. delicum and S. rubens subsp. delicum) – southern Greece and Cyclades
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. epiroticum – western Greece
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. eriocarpum – southern Greece and adjacent islands
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. orientale – Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. porphyreum (synonym S. porphyreum Kotschy) – Cyprus
• Sedum eriocarpum subsp. spathulifolium – western and west-central Crete

External links

• http://www.treknature.com/gallery/photo257160.htm
• http://www.treknature.com/gallery/photo251363.htm
• http://floraofcyprus.zzl.org/images/sedum porphyreum/DSC04488.JPG
• http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/fd/fd.nsf/0/E35E238470AE526AC22577AB0026BECE/$file/Sedum porphyreum-1.jpg?OpenElement
• http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2489439

Notes and References

1. The Endemic Plants of Cyprus, Texts: Takis Ch. Tsintides, Photographs: Laizos Kourtellarides, Cyprus Association of Professional Foresters, Bank of Cyprus Group, Nicosia 1998,