January, 1912 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



255 



under that name, for purple-leaved var- 

 ieties would naturally be expected in all 

 these stonecrops with highly colored flowers. 

 According to Dr. Masters S. atropurpureum 

 of the trade should be called 5. maximum, 

 var. hcematodes. Let us see, then, what 

 sort of a species this S. maximum is. 



Sedum maximum is rather difficult to 

 distinguish from spectabile, although the 

 petals of maximum are whitish, with 

 red spots toward the tip. A surer dis- 

 tinction resides in the buds, those of 

 spectabile being long and pointed, while 

 those of maximum are inversely egg- 

 shaped, with an abrupt point. You can- 

 not put any faith in more obvious char- 

 acters, because the stems of maximum are 

 sometimes green, sometimes purple, while 

 the leaves may be either rounded at the 

 base or tapering, spreading or recurved, 

 green or variegated. Some gardeners be- 

 lieve that maximum is a better garden 

 plant than spectabile. I would urge nur- 

 serymen who advertise 5. spectabile, var. 

 atropurpureum to compare their plants 

 with the descriptions here given and see 

 if what they are selling is not really a 

 variety of 5. maximum. If however, their 

 purple-leaved stonecrops do not bloom at 

 all, the leaves should be compared with 

 those of the next species. 



live-forever or orpine (S. Telephium) 



Every barefoot boy knows the thick- 

 leaved live-forever that runs wild in 

 cemeteries and along roadsides but never 

 seems to bloom. This is 5. Telephium. 

 It does really bloom occasionally, the 

 petals being pink, spotted red, or rarely 

 white, and appearing in July or August. 

 The varieties rubrum and purpureum 

 are purple-leaved varieties which are not 

 likely to bloom in gardens, so far as my 

 experience goes, but I should be glad to 

 hear from collectors on this point, as 

 Robinson takes a very different view of 

 this species. He says cut blooms last a 

 long time, hence are often called "Ever- 

 lasting Livelongs. " 



In this connection I must say that 

 many nurserymen catalogue S. Fabaria 

 and some consider it the showiest of all 

 stonecrops. Masters declares that 5. Fab- 

 aria of the trade is nothing in the world 

 but S. spectabile. The true Fabaria he 

 considers a subspecies of 5. Telephium, 

 with narrower leaves and cymes always 

 terminal — never lateral. This treatment 

 is very remarkable, for subspecies are rare 

 birds in botany and something of a nuisance. 

 The probability is that Masters's Fabaria 

 is not in the trade, but anyone who buys 

 5. Fabaria should look well to the leaves. 

 If they are opposite or in threes your plant 

 is either maximum or spectabile, but if 

 they are scattered you have a very rare 

 and interesting plant — the true S. Fabaria. 

 In that case I hope you will photograph it 

 and tell us all about it. 



THE AMERICAN LIVE-FOREVER 



The live-forever I have just described is 

 a European plant which has run wild in 







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Siebold's stoneorop (_Sedum Sieboldii) the best foliage plant in the genus, having conspicuous bluish 

 greenish leaves, margined with pink, Auchincloss garden. Newport 



America. But we have a native live- 

 forever known as 6". telephoides. This 

 has flesh-colored flowers in June. Some 

 dealers advertise a yellow-flowered plant 

 under this name. To get the real thing 

 one should send to a specialist in the 

 plants of the Southern Appalachians. 



THE UNIQUE ROSE-ROOT 



The last of the pinkish group is unique 

 in so many ways that when I make any 

 generalizations about Sedum hereafter I 

 must ask my readers to add mentally 

 "always excepting 6". roseum." It has 

 one point in common with the species 

 already described — ■ a thick, fleshy root- 

 stock or tuber, but this is peculiar in ex- 



haling a perfume of rose water. The 

 plant grows only six or eight inches high 

 and has greenish or reddish purple flowers 

 in a cluster only one inch across. Most 

 stonecrops, have five petals, five stamens, 

 etc., but this one has its floral parts in 

 fours. 



What makes the rose root absolutely 

 unique in the genus is its unisexual flowers 

 — the other stonecrops being bisexual. 

 In other words, some of the rose-root 

 flowers have four stamens, but no pistils, 

 while others have four pistils but no 

 stamens. Moreover, the flowers some- 

 times have so much yellow in their green, 

 that I am not sure that I ought not to 

 include this interesting but pernickity 



The everlasting stonecrop (.Sedum Aizoov) one of the robust, yellow-flowered species which is hardly 

 suitable for refined borders but is good for covering large areas of rough and rocky land 



