Sedum reflexum or Sedum rupestre, also known as Reflexed Stonecrop, Blue Stonecrop, Jenny's Stonecrop and Prick-madam, is a species of succulent plant of the genus Sedum

Sedum

Sedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. It contains around 400 species of leaf succulents that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, varying from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have...

, native to Northern, Central, and Southwestern Europe.

Description

The Sedum reflexum plants are typically up to 10 cm high, with sprawling stems and stiff foliage resembling spruce

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

 branches, with softer tissue. The leaves are blue-gray to gray, and flowers are yellow. Like most other Sedum species, it has a prostrate, spreading habit.

Cultivation

Sedum reflexum is a popular ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

, grown in gardens, containers, and as houseplants. It is drought tolerant. There are named cultivars with variegated leaves.

This sedum is prone to fasciation (cristate forms)

Fasciation

Fasciation is a condition of plant growth in which the apical meristem, normally concentrated around a single point, producing approximately cylindrical tissue, becomes elongated perpendicularly to the direction of growth, producing flattened, ribbon-like, crested, or elaborately contorted tissue...

, which produces attractive cactus-like forms, with irregular curves. However it reverts easily, so all normal offshoots need be removed quickly to maintain the cristate form.