Sedum telephium subsp. fabaria
Syme, an Orpine
Account Summary
Introduced, neophyte, a very rare, naturalised garden escape, possibly only a casual and locally extinct. Eurasian temperate, but widely naturalised, including in N America.
1939; Praeger, R.Ll.; in woods on Inisherk Island (also known as 'Garden Island'), Crom Castle Estate.
Fermanagh occurrence
There are six old records for this distinctive, cultivated, perennial succulent from wild or semi-wild sites in Fermanagh, all dating from the period 1939-52 (Revised Typescript Flora). All but the first appear fairly remote from local gardens and were found on the sides of tracks and roads, or on or near lakeshores, possibly in fairly dry, shade or semi-shade of woodland or scrub margins. Apart from the first given above the record details are: railway track and roadside near Kesh, 1942, R. Mackechnie; Lower Lough Erne shore near Lisnarrick, 1942, R. Mackechnie; by lane on slopes of Slieve Rushen, 1949, MCM & D; and roadside N of Monea, 1952, MCM & D.
When, as at Crom, the plant occurs in deeper woodland shade, it seldom if ever flowers. The species cannot compete with taller grasses and it is also intolerant of grazing and trampling (Sinker et al. 1985). The fact that this stonecrop has not been recorded in Fermanagh by anyone for over 50 years, strongly suggests that as a garden subject this species has become unfashionable and locally it is extinct. It has been replaced in the great majority of gardens in NI by the superior decorative attractions of S. spectabile (= Hylotelephium spectabile (Boreau) H. Ohba) (Ice Plant). The latter, introduced in 1868 from China and Japan, is currently very popular since it attracts colourful butterflies to the garden in late summer and autumn. Several rather different horticultural varieties of it are readily available, making it more enticing than S. telephium (Griffiths 1994; J.M. Croft, in: Preston et al. 2002).
Irish occurrence
Orpine still does occur rather rarely elsewhere on the island of Ireland from time to time, principally in the NE, although S. telephium s.l. has been found at least once over the years in 32 Irish VCs (Reynolds 2002). A measure of frequency is provided by the fact that the survey of urban Belfast found Orpine in just two 1-km squares, one of which was a rubbish dump (Beesley & Wilde 1997).
The most likely status of S. telephium subsp. fabaria in Ireland as a whole is as a short-term or even casual garden escape or discard, rather than a fully naturalised, established and long-persistent plant (FNEI 3; Cat Alien Pl Ir).
Threats
None.