GRASSULACEyE-ORPINE FAMILY 



LIVE-FOR-EVER. GARDEN ORPINE 



Sedum telephium. 



Sedum, from sedeo, to sit; because many of the species grow upon 

 rocks. 



A survivor of early gardens, now rarely cultivated, but found on aban- 

 doned farms, and by the way-sides in New England and the Middle 

 West. June-September. 



Stem. — Stout, erect, leafy, one to two feet high. 



Leaves. — Scattered, smooth, fleshy, wavy-toothed, pale-green. 



Flowers. — Small, pinkish -purple, in a terminal compound cyme; its 

 parts varying from four to five, usually five. 



Sepals. — Five, ovate, acute. 



Petals. — Five, twice as long as the sepals. 



Stamens. — ^Ten; alternate ones adhering to the 

 base of each petal. 



Pistils. — Five, tipped with a short style; ripening 

 to follicles. 



Country children know the Live-for-ever be- 

 cause the under skin of its fleshy leaves can be 

 loosened by childish fingers and the leaf then 

 blown up like a bladder. The plant blooms but 

 sparingly; indeed, many people suppose it 

 never blooms at all; it spreads by rooting at the nodes. It is 

 very tenacious of life, and though long since discarded from the 

 garden list, has lived in odd corners and by the roadside in ap- 

 parent contentment. All comes, the proverb says, to one who 

 waits, and the waiting Live-for-ever is welcomed back to-day to 

 the rock garden where its merits are appreciated and its place 

 assured. 



227 



Leaf of Live-for-ever 



