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Glite Dictionary
Sedum telephium

Sedum telephium

9.8
A plant that lives for several years with thick leaves and small purple flowers
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Sedum telephium
  • We identified the succulent as Sedum telephium by its thick leaves and purple-tinged flowers.

Examples

  • Many gardeners plant Sedum telephium because it attracts butterflies and tolerates drought well.

  • The garden border was lined with Sedum telephium, which bloomed late into autumn.

  • The Sedum telephium blooms beautifully in late summer.

  • I planted Sedum telephium in my garden last spring.

  • Many gardeners plant Sedum telephium because it attracts butterflies and tolerates drought well.

  • The garden border was lined with Sedum telephium, which bloomed late into autumn.

  • We identified the succulent as Sedum telephium by its thick leaves and purple-tinged flowers.

Synonyms

livelong
vsSedum telephium
1 9.9

A plant that lives many years with toothed leaves and small purplish-white flowers

is the botanical species name used instead of informal common names
orpine
vsSedum telephium
9.9

A small hardy plant with thick leaves and clusters of pale purple flowers

is the scientific species name used instead of the common name
orpin
vsSedum telephium
9.9

A plant that lives for many years with toothed leaves and small purplish-white flower clusters

is the standard scientific name form rather than the variant spelling
live-forever
vsSedum telephium
9.6

A small hardy plant with thick leaves that forms low clusters and small purple and white flowers

is a single species name not a general group term

Surface Forms

Sedum telephium singular
Sedum telephiums plural

Morphology

Sedum + telephium

This is a Latin binomial (scientific name): 'Sedum' identifies the plant genus but 'telephium' is a non-English species epithet (not a dictionary word), so a B1 learner knowing the constituents would not be able to derive the specific meaning or common name. Scientific species names act as arbitrary labels rather than compositional English phrases, making the overall meaning unpredictable from the parts.

Etymology

Sedum telephium may come from older words: Sedum from Latin 'to sit' because these low, thick-leaved plants seem to sit on rocks or walls, and telephium was an old name for a plant 'used for healing'. So the name helps you remember a hardy, low-growing garden plant with thick leaves and small flowers.