206 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



93. Sedum nutans Rose (fig. 117). 



S. nutans Rose in Bull. New York Bot. Garden, 8, 43, 1903. 



Synonym. — Cremnophila nutans Rose in "N. Amer. Flora," 22f 56, 1905. 



A remarkably massive plant with inflorescence of a type rare 

 in Sedum — an elongated, compact panicle. Easily recognized by this 

 character, by its yellow-green flowers, and very large leaves over half- 

 an-inch thick. Its peculiar characters caused Dr. Rose to place it in 

 a separate genus, but as most of these features can be matched in 

 one or another species of Sedum, it seems best to leave it in that 

 genus where Dr. Rose originally placed it. 



Description. — A massive, very succulent, glabrous, evergreen perennial. 

 Stem erect (in nature pendent on cliffs), ^—^ inch thick, branched, round, smooth 

 save for leaf-scars, bare below. Leaves aggregated at top of branches, up to 

 3 by 2 by f inch or more, sessile, oblong-ovate to trapezoidal, blunt, dark green, 

 smooth, flat above, rather rounded below, crowded. Flower-stem axillary, 

 ascending, 6 to 8 inches long, leafy, leaves alternate, almost obovoid, i to } inch 

 long, smaller upwards. Inflorescence an elongated panicle about 3 inches long 

 by i^ inches wide ; branches deflexed, leafy, with linear-obovate bracts, the 

 lower branches with up to 8 flowers ; panicle nodding. Buds obovate, very 

 blunt. Flowers greenish- yellow, cup-shaped, 5- (occasionally 6-) parted. Sepals 

 ascending, linear to linear-obovate, very fleshy, flatfish on face, rounded on 

 back, pale green, unequal, as long as the petals. Petals lanceolate, apiculate, 

 ascending or patent, greenish yellow, separate to the base. Stamens equalling 

 the petals, slightly spreading, filaments pale green, anthers yellow. Scales 

 cuneate-oblong, rather longer than broad, upper part orange-scarlet. Carpels 

 whitish, erect, with green slender spreading styles. 



Flowers March (gentle heat). Not hardy. 



Habitat. — Cliffs at Tepoxtlan, Mexico. 



Received from Edinburgh ; seen also at Kew. 



The name has reference to the nodding habit of the inflorescence, 

 a character very unusual in Sedum. 



Dr. Rose describes the petals as bright yellow ; but in the 

 Edinburgh plant (which came from Washington) they are greenish 

 yellow. 



94. Sedum dendroideum M09. and Sess6 (fig. 118, iigb). 



S. dendroideum M09. and Sesse ex De Candolle "Prodromus," 3, 409, 

 1828. Hemsley, "Biol. Centr. Amer., Botany," 1, 394. "N. Amer. 

 Flora," 22, 69. 



Illustration. — De Candolle. " Mdmoire Crassul.," pi. 9. 



This species, with S. praealtum and S. confusum, form a closely 

 related group much confused in gardens, and usually misnamed. 

 The common plant of English cultivation, often seen in cottage 

 windows, and, when named, usually called dendroideum, is 5. praealtum. 

 S. confusum is rarer in gardens, and is also usually labelled dendroideum 

 when named at all. S. dendroideum itself I have only met with as 

 an unnamed plant (^Vx) ^^^^ from Washington. I have not succeeded 

 in flowering it, but the leaf characters appear to identify it satis- 

 factorily. In America, on the other hand, dendroideum appears to 



