Sunday, February 20, 2011


broadleaf stonecrop
Sedum spathulifolium
Crassulaceae

Without these in bloom, I have little chance of identifying this plant. I'm assuming they're a species of Dudleya, but I could be incorrect. I've checked a handful of plant lists for Garland Ranch and only one even mentions succulents. As you can tell from my pictures, this is a very moist area... but only in the winter and spring. Several years ago when I returned to CA, these were the very first wild (i.e., not garden) succulents I had ever seen in this area, and if my memory is correct, I believe the blooms were yellow. Can anyone ID?

ps 03/02/11 - Boy, did I have this wrong! At the very least, I knew this was a stonecrop thingahoo. I originally posted this as an unknown dudleya. Nope. No wonder I couldn't find a match after searching through hundreds of pictures of dudleya. Many thanks to Megan and Matti at Far Out Flora, I got an ID. I also double-checked the CNPS Garland Ranch plant list from 2006 and this is the only Sedum on their list. I've corrected the ID above.

3 comments:

Matti said...

Megan thinks (I agree) that it's probably Sedum spathulifolium...at least a close sedum cousin. Matti

Katie (Nature ID) said...

I've corrected the ID above and added a postscript. These certainly look different than container plants I've seen for gardens. It also doesn't help that these were pretty wet. I'll have to pay attention later whether they look chalky in drier weather.

Jeannette said...

The identification of succulents is a whole world unto itself...these sure are happy campers..and being a type of crassulacea makes sense to me...but I am not even an id beginner.