Suomi
Svenska
Biting Stonecrop
Sedum acre
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Biting Stonecrop is a tiny, mat-forming plant with thick, water-storing leaves and bright yellow, starry flowers. It thrives on bare rock, sand and old walls, forming bright patches in sunny, dry places. Warning: poisonous.
Did you know?
- Its leaves stay green through winter.
- It stores water in its thick leaves, letting it survive on sun-baked rock.
About the species
Identification
Low, mat-forming plant 5–12 cm tall. Creeping stems make loose cushions; flowering shoots rise 3–10 cm. Leaves tiny (3–6 mm), thick and rounded, widest at the base, yellow‑green or reddish; set loosely around the stem, not in neat rows; they stay green through winter. Flowers bright yellow, five-pointed stars in small clusters of 3–6. Later, dry pods split to release many seeds. Compared with other small yellow stonecrops, its leaves are more widely spaced and not in tidy rows; white-flowered stonecrops are different. Flowers in Finland in mid-summer (June–July).
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
rock
Toxicity
A poisonous plant – do not taste it. Source: HUS Poison Information Centre (Finland), tel. 0800 147 111.
Flowering
Jun–Jul
About the habitat
Open, sunny places on rock outcrops, sandy or gravelly ground, coastal shingle, roadsides and stone walls. Tolerates drought and poor soil, and can benefit from bird-enriched spots. Common in southern and central Finland and along the Gulf of Bothnia coast.
Sources
Photo: JackyM59, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orpin âcre (Sedum acre).jpg
Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Koululaisille: talvivihreät kasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38750
Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Itämeri: karut rannikkometsät, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38750
Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38750
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keltamaksaruoho
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