E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Sedum spathulifolium Hook.
broad-leaved stonecrop (broadleaf stonecrop)
Crassulaceae

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Sedum spathulifolium
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a stout rhizome and rootstock; stems ascending to erect, several, branched above, 5-22 cm tall, glabrous and glaucous.

Leaves:
Basal leaves in a rosette; stem leaves alternate, oblong to spoon-shaped or wedge-shaped, 0.5-2.5 cm long, succulent, flattened, broadest above the midlength and tapered to the base, strongly crowded, pale green to reddish in full sun, glaucous.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of terminal, flat-topped umbrella-shaped clusters; petals 5, bright yellow, 7-10 mm long, narrowly oblong-lanceolate but not long-pointed.

Fruits:
Follicles, erect but strongly spreading.

Notes:
Two weakly separated varieties occur in BC:

1. Rosette leaves lightly glaucous..................... var. spathulifolium.

1. Rosette leaves strongly glaucous.................... var. pruinosum (Britt.) Boivin

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic coastal cliffs and forest openings in the lowland and montane zones; common in SW BC, known only from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; S to CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Sedum spathulifolium

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	0	288	1990
Slope Gradient (%)	5	57	120
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	23	28	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	1	1	4
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	A
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	28
Modal BEC Zone Class	CDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	CDF(21), CWH(3), IDF(2)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Ecological Indicator Information

A very shade-intolerant, submontane to subalpine, Western North American forb distributed more in the Pacific than the Cordilleran region. Occurs in maritime to submaritime summer-dry cool mesothermal climates on excessively dry to very dry, nitrogem-poor soils; its occurrence decreases with increasing precipitation and continentality. Sparse to sporadic in non-forested communities on very shallow, water-shedding sites (rock outcrops and cliffs). Characteristic of moisture-deficient sites.

Source: Indicator Plants of Coastal British Columbia (Information applies to coastal locations only)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is cool mesothermal.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Sedum spathulifolium var. pruinosum (Britton) B. Boivin

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Crassulaceae
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-08 8:09:15 PM ]

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