Sedum marmorense

Marble mountains stonecrop

Family: Crassulaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Marble mountains stonecrop is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges on dry ledges, rocky ridgelines, and talus at elevations of 2,000 to 2,400 meters. Flowering in July, this plant produces white to cream flowers that age to pale yellow or pink, with petals 5.3 to 7.5 millimeters long arranged in spheric to short-cylindrical clusters. Growing 4 to 15 centimeters tall with dense rosettes in sunny sites, it develops stout rhizomes and stems covered in a distinctive white, granular wax that leaves a residue when touched. Its rosette leaves are strongly flattened, 6 to 24 millimeters long, broadly obovate with notched or rounded tips, distinctly different from the smaller alternate stem leaves. The plant's delicate white filaments and yellow anthers, which age to red-orange, add to its subtle botanical charm.

Habitat: dry ledges, rocky ridgelines, talus, on varied substrates, including metasediments, metavolcanics, and serpentine

Bloom period: Jul

Elevation: 2000-2400 m

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.