Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Magnoliophyta -- flowering plants

Class: Magnoliopsida -- dicotyledons

Order: Rosales

Family: Crassulaceae -- stonecrop

Subspecies: The Palouse phase is ssp. stenopetalum.

Common Name: wormleaf stonecrop

Species Code: SEST2, SESTS2

Origin: Native to dry, rocky places from shrub-steppe to dry forests of western North America from British Columbia to California and east to Montana, Wyoming, and southern Alberta.

Rare: no

Form: forb, succulent perennial from rhizomes; sterile shoots numerous; flowering stems ascending to erect, 5-30 cm tall, with a waxy coating overall.

Mature height: 2-12 inches

Duration: perennial

Longevity: medium life-span

Habitat Type: lithosolic prairie

Wetland Indicator Status: not listed

Leaves: alternate, papillate-roughened at the tip, linear or more or less lanceolate, strongly keeled or nerved on the dorsal surface and usually strongly flattened, attenuate to acuminate, 5-16 mm long; basal leaves deciduous by anthesis, upper cauline leaves persistent, frequently bearing bulbil-like propagules.

Flowers: borne in an open terminal cyme, often sterile and bearing bulbil-like propagules; 5-merous; sepals lanceolate, acuminate, 1.5-2 mm long; petals yellow, 5-10 mm long, spreading, lanceolate, apiculate; stamens inserted.

Flower color: yellow

Bloom: June, July

Bloom starts on: early June

Bloom ends on: late July

Fruit: follicle, 6-8 mm long, erect, ovoid, divergent; seed about 1 mm long.

Characteristics:
S. douglasii in St. John 1963 and in Piper & Beattie 1914. Davis (1953) recognized S. douglasii and S. stenopetalum as separate species, but newer floras consider S. douglasii as synonymous with S. stenopetalum.
Reproduces both sexually by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes. Sometimes produces bulbils in place of flowers.
n=8, 16, 24 (Baldwin et al 2004) .
Flowers are perfect.
Fruit is a follicle.
Leaves are edible but may be extremely sour. Native peoples had medicinal uses.

Comments: Sedum species grow on rocks and in dry places. The leaves have a waxy coating to reduce evaporation and help the plants resist drought.

Sun requirement: full sun to partial shade

Soil moisture: xeric

Fire: rocky habitat helps protect plants from fire

Sowing time: fall or spring

Transplant time: spring

Stratification: not required

Seed yield: information not available

Seed harvest: difficult

Seed first harvest: information not available

Seed cleaning: information not available

Planting duration: medium

Seed shatter: information not available

Seed size: small

Seed harvest date: August

Herbaria: Specimen data and digital resources from The Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria

Keywords: native perennial upland forb

Propagation:
1 protocol in the Native Plant Network
University of Kentucky

Other Propagation Information:
Sedums are easy to propagate vegetatively. A small piece of leafy stem will usually root (Kruckeberg 1996, Parish et al 1996).
Colorado alpine populations germinate at a constant 15^oC in light or dark, or with alternating temperatures of 15-20^oC with light. Fresh seed has some dormancy which is lost after 6 months of dry storage (Sayers & Ward 1966).
Reproduces both sexually by seed and vegetatively by rhizomes. Sometimes produces bulbils in place of flowers. Sedums can be propagated by division or from seed.

Notes: Sedum stenopetalum seems like it would be a good species for the rock garden. Flowers in early June. It is supposedly possible to propagate from stem cuttings. Common names include wormleaf stonecrop, Douglas’ stonecrop (Skinner et al 2005).

References: Baldwin, B.G., S. Boyd, B.J. Ertter, D.J. Keil, R.W. Patterson, T.J. Rosatti, and D.H. Wilken (eds). 2004. Jepson Online Interchange for California Floristics. University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Accessed 12/24/09 online at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html

Davis, Ray J. 1952. Flora of Idaho. Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, Iowa. 827 pp.

Kruckeberg, Arthur R. 1996. Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press. Seattle, WA.

Parish, Roberta, Ray Coupe, and Dennis Lloyd. 1996. Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing. Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Piper, C.V., and R.K. Beattie. 1914. The Flora of Southeastern Washington and Adjacent Idaho. Press of the New Era Printing Company, Lancaster, PA. 296 pp.

Sayers, Richard L., and Richard T. Ward. 1966. Germination Responses in Alpine Species. Botanical Gazette 127:11-16.

Skinner, David M., Paul Warnick, Bill French, and Mary Fauci. 2005. More Palouse Forbs for Landscaping. USDA NRCS Pullman Plant Materials Center and Palouse Prairie Foundation. Online at http://www.wsu.edu/pmc_nrcs/Docs/More_Forbs_for_Landscaping.pdf

St. John, Harold. 1963. Flora of Southeastern Washington and of Adjacent Idaho. 3rd edition. Outdoor Pictures. Escondido, CA.

Links:
Plant Profile from the USDA PLANTS Database
Species description from Flora of North America
Species information from the University of Washington Herbarium