Sempervivum tectorum L., House-leek
Account Summary
Introduction, neophyte, deliberately planted, rare, declining and probably locally extinct.
1902; Abraham, J.T. & McCullagh, F.; Drumclay a district of Enniskillen, walls and roofs.
Growth form and preferred habitats
A long-lived evergreen succulent perennial, very tolerant of drought, S. tectorum is a native of the mountains of C & S Europe and of the Greek islands introduced to B & I around the 13th century. It flowers sparingly in July, producing a tight cluster of blooms on the top of a leafy stem 30-60 cm tall. The flowers are a red-purple colour, 15-30 mm in diameter. The flowers contain nectar and attract various insects. The fruit is a dry collection of follicles. Irrespective of seed production, vegetative offsets from the basal leaf rosettes readily spread the plant in its site.
House-leek appears to have declined greatly in popularity as a subject for cultivation on cottage or outhouse roofs, walls and in rock gardens during the second half of the 20th century in comparison with earlier centuries. Even in Victorian and Edwardian times, S. tectorum was still regarded as a lucky charm, able to ward off evil spirits and prevent catastrophic events such as house fires, lightening and thunderbolts (Vickery 1995). Unlike in some other areas in B & I, in Fermanagh this succulent perennial does not survive for long on deserted ruins. The Cat Alien Pl Ir suggested that only old records exist in Ireland, but the New Atlas map plots eight scattered hectads with post-1986 Irish records.
Fermanagh occurrence
Nevertheless, despite the above traditions, evidence of the decline of this species is readily observed in Fermanagh. Between them, Abraham & McCullagh in 1902 and Meikle and his co-workers in the 1946-52 period, found at least ten stations for S. tectorum in the VC. From the site names, some might just possibly have been garden escapes actually naturalised and growing 'in the wild'. However, the current authors have never observed this distinctive plant growing outside garden confines anywhere in Fermanagh, and there are no post-1952 records at all from the VC.
In the 1975 Revised Typescript Flora, Meikle et al. listed a 1902 find by Abraham & McCullagh of this species as the "Bar of Whealt" another name for a townland that includes the western end of the Cliffs of Magho which was published for this pair of botanical friends by Praeger (1903a). As there are no buildings or walls along the cliff top area, it is highly unlikely to be the site meant. Site names of the Victorian era, and indeed up until map grid references came into use in VC botanical recording around 1967, sites are often really difficult to pin down. Also, modern 1:50,000 maps are quite often printed with rather different site names from older one inch and larger scale maps. It seems probable that in this instance 'Bar of Whealt' really referred to houses or outbuildings around the base of the escarpment, on farms on the slopes overlooking Lower Lough Erne. In the post-war period, Meikle and his friends also tended to be rather vague about site names, eg listing a 1948 station of their own for this species simply as, "Near Lattone Lough". Having said this, both Praeger and Meikle describe the habitat for all twelve S. tectorum records as being "on walls and roofs".
British and Irish occurrence
In their comprehensive book on Aliens Plants, Clement & Foster (1994) remarked that while previously S. tectorum was a long-established introduction on old walls and cottage roofs, it is now decreasing and becoming rare. The related S. montanum introduced from C & S Europe has fared even worse. The latter reference indicates that only pre-1930 records exist for it.
The New Atlas hexad map indicates that S. tectorum, which is native to S Europe, still remains widespread and reasonably frequent in the southern half of Britain, thinning northwards and becoming increasingly coastal as it does so. Overall, the presence of House-leek is definitely waning throughout these islands (Preston et al. 2002). The current author feels it rather sad that a garden plant that has been in cultivation since at least 1200 A.D. (Harvey 1981), and which was first recorded in the wild as early as 1629, should fade away through changing mores and a lack of faith in its life preserving and medicinal properties. The replacement of many thatch roofs by slate, which took place in the early 20th century has obviously also been a very significant factor, detrimental to the growth and survival of this species.
Medicinal uses
Apart from its supposed magical property safeguarding attributes already mentioned, S. tectorum was also widely used in traditional herbal medicine. The fleshy leaves are astringent and diuretic and were used to poultice corns. An application of the sap was said to ease the pain of burns and any other sore place, including lips, ears and eyes. A boiled extract was also used to treat ringworm and warts, and it was recommended for a number of women's complaints, including abortion (Grieve 1931; Vickery 1995; Darwin 1996).
Threats
None.