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Hylotelephium telephium
Also called Witch's moneybags, Live Forever, Garden Orpine, Garden Stonecrop, Live Forever Stonecrop, Purple Stonecrop, Livelong
Orpine is a hardy succulent perennial in the Crassulaceae (stonecrop) family, native to Europe and Asia, grown for its flat flower heads and fleshy leaves. It is easy to grow in sun and well-drained soil, and it tolerates dry spells.
Hylotelephium telephium (synonym Sedum telephium), known as orpine, livelong, frog's-stomach, harping Johnny, life-everlasting, live-forever, midsummer-men, Orphan John, witch's moneybags, and garden stonecrop is a succulent perennial plant of the family Crassulaceae native to Eurasia. The flowers are held in dense heads and can be reddish or yellowish-white. A number of cultivars, often with purplish leaves, are grown in gardens as well as hybrids between this species and the related Hylotelephium spectabile (iceplant), especially the popular 'Herbstfreude' ('Autumn Joy'). Occasionally garden plants may escape and naturalise as has happened in parts of North America.
The species is endemic from Europe to Asia, but has been widely introduced elsewhere, particularly N America. It can be found growing in fields, around hedges, hills, and on gravelly or calcareous soils. In the UK, it is found in woodland and near hedges.
The very young leaves can be eaten raw, and both the young leaves and firm tubers can be cooked.
Cliff Stonecrop · Azure Stonecrop · Pink Mongolian Stonecrop · Hylotelephium sieboldii · Showy stonecrop · Stonecrop
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hylotelephium telephium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
