/ f C [ 839 ]
S E D U M acre»
Biting Stone-crop.
DECANDRIA Pentagyma.
G e n . C h a r . Cal. 5-cleft. Petals 5 , with 5 nedfari^
ferous fcales at the bafe of the germen. Capfules 5,.
S p e c . C h a r . Leaves alternate, fomewhat ovate,
flefhy, gibbous, fixed to the ftem by their inner
fide above the bafe. Cyme three-cleft, leafy.
S v n . Sedumacre. Linn. Sp. PL 619. Sm.FI.Brit. 487 .
Hudf. 196. With. 4 2 7 . Hull. 99. Relh. 174»
Sibth. 14 4 . Abbot. 99. Curt. Lond. fafc. 1. t. 3 2 .
Woodv. Suppl. t. 231.
S. parvurn acre, fiore luteo. Rail Syn. 270.
. . .
JL H I S b r illian t little flow e r is confpicuous enough about
m id fum m e r , and for fome tim e a fte rw ards, on w a lls , roofs, an d
d ry b a r ren o r fan d y g ro u n d , w h ic h it clothes as it w e re w ith a
c lo th o f g o ld , in defiance o f the dro ugh t an d m o d fco rch in g
fu n .
The fmall fibrous roots are perennial, and fpring from the
lower part of the tufted and intricate ftems, whofe branches
only grow upright, and are covered with alternate, imbricated,
very fucculent, fmooth, grafs-green leaves, which are of an
ovate form, protuberant at the back, fixed to the ftem not by
their bafe, but by their inner or upper furface a little above it,
confequently fpurred beneath the infertion, as in S. rejlexum,
/. 695. Flowers in fmall terminal leafy cymes, which are
three-cleft when luxuriant only. Calyx of five bluntifh
fmooth fegments. Petals ovate, acute. Capfules membranous,
pointed, fmooth.
The whole herb is acrid, hot and biting to the tafte, whence
its common name Wall Pepper. Dr. Woodville quotes
feveral authorities to prove its ufe in fcorbutic and fcrophulous
diforders.