Flora of Israel | Sedum microcarpum

Sedum microcarpum, Telmissa microcarpa, Small-Fruited Stonecrop,

Hebrew: זערורית קטנה, Arabic: السدم صغير الثمار

Scientific name:   Sedum microcarpum (Sm.) Schonl.
Synonym name:   Telmissa microcarpa (Sm.) Boiss.
Common name:   Small-Fruited Stonecrop
Hebrew name:   זערורית קטנה
Arabic name:   السدم صغير الثمار
Plant Family:   Crassulaceae, Stonecrop Family, טבוריתיים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   5-12 cm tall; usually unbranched
Leaves:   Alternate, cylindrical or terete
Flowers:   Sepals 0.5 mm, obtuse; 1 mm white petals
Fruits:   One-seeded, non-dehiscent nutlike fruit
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April
Habitat:   Hard rock outcrops
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Sedum, Latin sedo, “to sit,” in reference to the manner in which some species attach themselves to stones or walls.

microcarpum, having small fruits or seed pods.
Telmissa, Greek telmat- (telma), swamp, marsh.
The Hebrew name: זערורית, tza’arurit, telmissa [Lit.: the small (plant); formed from זערורי, tza’aruri (=very small, tiny) with suffix ית, it.]

  • The standard author abbreviation Sm. is used to indicate James Edward Smith (1759 – 1828),an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.
  • The standard author abbreviation Schonl. is used to indicate Johann Lucas Schönlein (1793 – 1864), a German professor of medicine.
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.

According to Eggli (2003), the monotypic genus Telmissa differs from Sedum by 1-seeded carpels mainly.