114 STONECROP FAMILY 



1. COTYLEDON. 



1. C. nevadensis Wats. Leaves closely sessile, ovate to 

 oblong, acuminate, 1 to 4 in. long, l / 2 to $i in. wide. Corolla 

 tubular, f£ to l / 2 in. long, cleft to below the middle into lance- 

 olate taper-pointed erect segments, yellowish, or reddish in 

 small plants of sunny places or in poor soil. (Dudleya neva- 

 densis B. & R.) 



This is a stout, perennial, thick-rooted herb, with a dense, 

 basal cluster of fleshy leaves. The scaly-bracted flowering 

 stems are 4 to 12 in. long and branch above to form a loose, 

 roundish inflorescence. It is common on rocks and in crev- 

 ices at middle altitudes, growing where the soil is so shallow 

 that it retains moisture for only a short time after rains. 

 But the succulent leaves serve as reservoirs for the storing 

 of water, this ever present supply being drawn upon as 

 needed by the plant. 



2. SEDUM. Stonecrop. 

 Perennial herbs with fleshy obtuse leaves and terminally 

 clustered flowers with spreading petals. 



1. S. roseum Scop. Leaves numerous up to the flowers, 

 % to 24 m - long* obovate or oblong. Flowers usually dark 

 purple, in a dense terminal cluster, the petals about y$ in. 

 long and distinct. 



The erect stems of this Alpine Sedum are closely clustered 

 on a thick, woody, branching base and are 2 to 8 in. high. It 

 is common in loose soil about timber-line, especially from 

 the Tuolumne Meadows to Mt. Dana, Mt. Lyell, Clouds 

 Rest, etc. 



2. S. obtusatum Gray. Plant spreading and matted, with 

 many basal rosettes of thick leaves. Rosette-leaves spatulate, 

 1 in. or less long. Flowering stems 4 to 6 in. high, with few 

 and small oblong leaves. Petals yellow, %. to Y% in. long, 

 lanceolate, united for about one-fourth their length. 



The plants from which this species was first described came 

 from Mt. Hoffmann and Vernal Falls, but it is common 

 throughout the Sierra Nevada, growing on rocks. A dwarf 

 form with leaves less than y 2 in. long and perhaps narrower 

 calyx-lobes has been named G or mania hallii Britton. It has 

 been collected only at Lamberts Dome, Tuolumne Meadows. 



3. S. yosemitense Britton. Yosemite Stonecrop. Very 

 much like 5. obtusatum, and perhaps not a distinct species, 

 but the narrowly lanceolate petals are distinct to the base. 

 It was originally collected between Vernal and Nevada Falls 



