Hylotelephium

Hylotelephium is a genus of flowering plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae. It includes about 33 species distributed in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Species in the genus, formerly included in Sedum, are popular garden plants, known as sedum, stonecrop, live-for-ever, or orpine. Horticulturalists have hybridised many of the species to create new cultivars. Many of the newer ones are patented, so may not be propagated without a license.

Taxonomy

Hylotelephium telephium and related species have been considered in a number of different ways since first being described by Linnaeus in 1753, including as a section of Sedum by Gray in 1821, or a subgenus. But these taxa are quite distinct from Sedum morphologically.

Hylotelephium is one of a group of genera that form a separate lineage from Sedum, and is closely related to Orostachys, Meterostachys, and Sinocrassula.

The separation and recognition of Hypotelephium as a genus separate from Sedum has varied over time. As of March 2025, Plants of the World Online (POWO) and World Flora Online both recognise the genus Hylotelephium, with both documenting 28 accepted species. In horticulture, plants may often still be referred to as Sedum, with which they remain closely related.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Hylotelephium:

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
File:Hylotelephium anacampseros iNaturalist photo 416186083.jpg	Hylotelephium anacampseros	Southwestern Europe
	Hylotelephium angustum
	Hylotelephium × bergeri
	Hylotelephium bonnafousii
	Hylotelephium callichromum
File:Hylotelephium cauticolum1.jpg	Hylotelephium cauticola	Hokkaido, Japan
	Hylotelephium cyaneum
File:Crassulaceae - Sedum erythrostictum.JPG	Hylotelephium erythrostictum	Japan, Korea, Russia and China.
	Hylotelephium ewersii
File:Hylotelephium maximum RF.jpg	Hylotelephium maximum
	Hylotelephium mingjinianum
File:Sedum pallescens - plants (aka).jpg	Hylotelephium pallescens	China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia
	Hylotelephium pluricaule
	Hylotelephium populifolium
File:Orpin de Siebold.jpg	Hylotelephium sieboldii	Japan
File:Hylotelephium sordidum 3.JPG	Hylotelephium sordidum
File:Sedum spectabilum a1.jpg	Hylotelephium spectabile	China and Korea.
	Hylotelephium sukaczevii
	Hylotelephium tatarinowii
File:Hylotelephium telephoides Shenandoah National Park Hawksbill.jpg	Hylotelephium telephioides	USA extends from Georgia to Illinois and New York, and it has introduced populations in Ontario.
File:Atlas roslin pl Rozchodnik karpacki 10470 7929.jpg	Hylotelephium telephium	Eurasia.
	Hylotelephium tianschanicum
	Hylotelephium uralense
	Hylotelephium ussuriense
File:Hylotelephium verticillatum 2.JPG	Hylotelephium verticillatum	China, Japan, Korea, Russia
	Hylotelephium viride
	Hylotelephium viviparum

Hybrids

• Hylotelephium hybrids

Etymology

Hylotelephium means 'woodland distant lover'. 'Hylo' is derived from Greek, meaning 'forest' or 'woodland'. 'Telephium', also derived from Greek, means 'distant-lover'; the plant was thought to be able to indicate when one's affections were returned.

Bibliography

• (full text at ResearchGate)
• , in Flora of China online vol. 8

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