Sedum telephium ssp. telephium 

'Orpine'

Crassulaceae: An elegant fleshy perennial to 50cm of shady woodland and scrub. The flowers are reddish purple in rounded, terminal heads, flowering from July-August. The leaves are green, flashy, oval, irregularly toothed, on reddish stems. Locally common in England and Wales but scarce elsewhere. Native to most of Europe, Britain, south and east from Scandinavia to the Pyrenees, temperate Asia, and North America.

USES:

The Leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, they have occasionally been used in salads. The root can be cooked, and used in soups, stews.

The whole plant is astringent and cytostatic, it is a popular remedy for diarrhoea, stimulates the kidneys and has a reputation in the treatment of cancer. A poultice of the crushed leaves has been used in the treatment of boils and carbuncles.

GROWING INFORMATION:

Plants will succeed in most soils but prefers a fertile well-drained soil that is not too dry, but can tolerate poor soils, also tolerant of quite deep shade. Surface sow seeds in spring in well-drained soil in a sunny position in a greenhouse, don’t allow the soil to dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If sufficient growth is made, it is possible to plant them out during the summer, otherwise keep them in a cold-frame or greenhouse for their first winter and plant them out in early summer of the following year.

HARVESTED: 

 

APPROX. SEEDS