Sunday, June 11, 2023

Stringy Stonecrop at Arabia Mountain

 At Arabia Mountain, I saw a little succulent with yellow flowers that seemed to be growing out of the rock. I wondered what native species had adapted to the microclimate around the monadnock.

But the plant was Stringy Stonecrop, Sedum sarmentosum, a native of China, Korea and Thailand. It’s lovely, and gardeners have spread it.

I understand and appreciate the idea of an “invasive species.” But it seems to me that if a plant can grow in a forbidding place, it’s got a claim on the earth, regardless of what we think.

Source: Missouri Botanical Gardens has photographs of Sedum sarmentosum here:

https://www.missouriplants.com/Sedum_sarmentosum_page.html

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