Sedum telephium, aka Hylotelephium telephium, Crassulaceae
When you think of succulents as a concept I am sure you don’t picture the often dreary climate of the British Isles as favourable to them, but in reality there are a few native species and they live quite happily here -the first plant id post I wrote on this blog was actually about one of them. When I was hill-walking north-west of Glasgow a few days ago I happened across a small colony of another fairly common one right where the edge of the path I was following met a grassy meadow. Known by many names, the most popular of which is orpine, the deep rosy inflorescences of this upright succulent were standing out among the greenery and a few bumblebees were taking advantage of them. By the way, I’ve always had a weak spot for the foxy fuzziness of the common carder bee, Bombus pascuorum, since I saved one trapped in a cobweb when I was a little kid. Look at that adorable wee face!
About a year ago I wrote about my experience with growing indoors what I now know to be an ornamental cultivar resulting from crossing this species and Hylotelephium spectabile, and described some of the uses of this practical plant (plus a funny anecdote), so check that post too!
