Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Coastal BC Plants: Stonecrop

Stonecrop

We have an unusual plant on our cliff, it's called Stonecrop. It's unusual because it's a succulent that you would expect to find in a drier climate, but it seems to thrive on the sunny face of our cliff. Surprisingly, in Coastal British Columbia, you can find it clinging to the ground on rocky, exposed outcrops.



I believe ours is Sedum spatulifolium. The leaves are fleshy and sage-green to reddish. In summer, they develop bright yellow flowers on tall stems. Historically, the Coastal Salish people used Stonecrop leaves as a styptic poultice.

Are you interested in plant identification? I use Plants of Coastal British Columbia by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon. It's available from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. I like it because it includes trees, shrubs, wildflowers, aquatics, grasses, ferns, mosses. lichens and some oddball (and very interesting) plants. In addition to the color pictures, line drawings, and identification information, the narratives include how the plants were used by First Nations people and early settlers. I highly recommend it for the casual observer as well as experienced botanists. -- Margy

8 comments:

  1. I bet the Stone crop is stunning against that rock wall! I really like the mix of the red and green foliage. It will grow here too, but I do not have any (yet). We have a big overgrown hillside that I hope to completely cover in various sedums and ground covers. Stone crop is one of the plants that I hope to use on it.
    I am really looking forward to looking through more of your blog!

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  2. The plant reminds me of the colorful succulent ice plants that grow along the coast in Monterey.

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  3. Stone crop looks very beautiful. Interesting that it should grow in your climate! Thanks for sharing.
    Wil, ABCW Team

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  4. Anonymous12:36 PM

    Nice discovery of the stonecrop. I've got a few varieties in the garden.

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  5. What an interesting plant. Never seen anything like it.

    SamuraiFrog, ABCW

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  6. I'm really weak at plant ID!

    ROG, ABCW

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  7. It looks beautiful. Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada.

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  8. Thanks all for visiting my Coastal BC plants post. It's a lot of fun to share our beautiful plants with you. - Margy

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We welcome your comments and questions. - Wayne and Margy