ICE-PLANT
BUTTERFLY STONECROP
Sedum spectabile
Stonecrop Family [Crassulaceae] 
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Stonecrop Family [Crassulaceae]
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flower
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petals
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| 7th Sept 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Shorter than Orpine with broader half-domed flower-heads. |
| 26th Aug 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Flowers pale pink to reddish-purple, as are those of Orpine. Both Stace and Fitter Fitter and Blamey say that the leaves are in opposite pairs, or in whorls of three, but it is proving hard to find examples of this, and Blamey actually draws it with alternate leaves! Very strange! Succulent stems light-green rather than the reddish of Orpine. |
| 7th Sept 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Usually depicted with a pink head and a fuzzy top surface. |
| 26th Aug 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| The flower head is wider and flatter than that of Orpine and not dissimilar to Broccoli in bud stage. |
| 7th Sept 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| The fuzziness of the top of the head is due to the five creamy-white pointed petals and the pinkish-red fruits with their five points, all pointing skywards before the petals properly unfold. |
| 26th Aug 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Un-opened flower buds light-green, bottom. |
| 26th Aug 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Opening flower buds creamy white with a pinkish-red centre |
| 7th Sept 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| When fully un-folded the petals turn pinkish. |
| 7th Sept 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Petals narrower than those of Orpine. |
| 7th Sept 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| The petals wither away leaving the fruits which turn a darker shade of red. |
| 26th Aug 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Developing fruits pink at first turning redder and rounder (centre right) |
| 26th Aug 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Fruits go darker. |
| 7th Sept 2009, a garden, Birch Rd, Walkden, Gtr Mcr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Ah, maybe here the leaves are as they are described in text books: wider than those of Orpine, with either in opposite pairs or whorls of three, and with crenate (convex) to serrate (concave) teeth. It seems to your Author that the text books might need revision? |
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Not to be semantically confused with another Ice-plant [a plant of Portugal and the Mediterranean regions (not UK) with the same common name which belongs to the Easily mis-identified as : Orpine (Sedum telephium), but that is taller, with a half-round flower-head (rather than the wider and flatter of Ice-plant), and has leaves that are alternate (rather than the [supposedly] opposite or whorls of three of Ice-plant).
Hybridizes with : Orpine (Sedum telephium)to produce Sedum 'Herbstfreude' aka Slight resemblance to : Caucasian Stonecrop (Sedum spurium) in that it also has red flowers of similar size.
Presumably it is called Butterfly Stonecrop because it attracts butterflies. Grows on waysides and elsewhere. Grown especially in Gardens. You are much more likely to find this growing in or near a garden than growing in the wild, but it does sometimes, usually as escapes.
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 Sedum
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spectabile
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⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Crassulaceae
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 Sedum (Stonecrops) |
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Stonecrop Family [Crassulaceae]
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BSBI maps