SEDUM  , in

botany, a genus of the natural order Crassulaceae, containing about 120 species, natives chiefly of the north temper-ate and frigid regions, and mostly perennial herbs with succulent leaves of varied form, but never compound . The white or yellow, rarely ,pink or blue, flowers are usually small and grouped in cymes . They have a calyx of fine sepals, as many petals, usually ten stamens and five distinct carpels, which have as many glands at their base and ripen into as many dry seed-pods . Several species are British, including some with tuberous roots and large leaves (Telephium), and others of smaller size, chiefly found on rocks, walls and dry banks; S. acre is stonecrop (see fig . I), well known also in gardens, a variety of which, aureum, is in cultivation with golden-yellow tips to the leaves and shoots . Many others are cultivated for the beauty of their foliage or flowers, and many are remarkable for their vitality under adverse circumstances . They succeed on rockwork, old walls or as border plants; some, e.g . S . Lydium, a native of Asia Minor, are excellent for carpet bedding .