Sedum rupestre

The Tale:

This sedum is prone to fasciation (cristate forms), which can produce attractive forms, with irregular curves and strange shapes.

However it reverts easily, so all normal offshoots need to be removed quickly to maintain the cristate form!

If you have not encountered fasciation in the world of plants before, then you must at least read about it.

A starter phrase:  it’s a relatively rare condition of abnormal growth in which the apical meristem (growing tip), which normally is concentrated around a single point becomes elongated in the direction of the growth.

Translated into literary speech: the flowers or stems will stretch into long deformations of themselves, producing incredible and bizarre shapes. It looks like you stepped into a hall of mirrors at a circus.

Fasciation is fascinating.

Other Names:

Petrosedum rupestre

Jenny’s stonecrop

Blue stonecrop

Stone orpine,

Prick-madam

Trip-madam

Origin:

Northern, Central, and Southern Europe.