Sedum Album

Sedum album or White stonecrop, is a flowering plant of the genus Sedum in the family Crassulaceae. It is found in the northern temperate regions of the world, often growing in crevices or free-draining rocky soil. As a long-day plant it grows vegetatively for most of the year and flowers in June and July.

Sedum album is able to acclimate to its environment. It can switch between C3 carbon fixation and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) depending on the availability of water. CAM saves water as the stomata on its leaves only open to allow CO₂ to diffuse into the leaves at night when the temperature (and therefore evapotranspiration) is lower. Drought stressed plants are also more susceptible to photoinhibition which CAM may help to protect against.

• The plant on the left is relatively drought stressed and the right is well watered