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Description:
Small's stonecrop is a small, succulent, glabrous reddish plant inhabiting granitic outcrop solution pools or vernal pools. The plants are approximately 3 to 7 dm in height and unbranched for 5 to 30 mm above the base, then forming few to numerous short, leafy branches. Each branch bears a terminal cyme, occasionally branched several times above the base. Occasionally, Small's stonecrop is found as a simple stem with a single terminal cyme. The leaves are alternate, sessile, and oblongish to oblanceolate. The leaves are 3 to 6 mm in length and blunted apically. The cymes are branched and each few flowered. The 4 sepals are minute, deltoid in shape and 0.5 mm in length or slightly longer. The 4 petals are small, approximately 2 to 3 mm in length, elliptic-oblong, persistent, and pink or purple in color. The stamens are at least 8 in number and opposite; and alternate to the petals and their filaments are white. The anthers are black (Godfrey and Wooten 1981 and Carman 2001).
Habitat:
Small's stonecrop inhabits solution pools of granitic domes, sandstone flatrocks, and granitic flatrocks as small as 0.02 acres. The species as well as other species including Federal and state rare plants grow from a shallow soils of the rock-rimmed solution pools (vernal pools) which hold water following a rain event. Small's stonecrop may also inhabit the edges of the solution pools (Porcher and Rayner 2001).
Range:
Small's stonecrop is found in the piedmont and lower mountains of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama and into Tennessee (Godfrey and Wooten 1981). In Tennessee, the species is found in Cumberland, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Marion, Putnam, and Rhea counties (Carman 2001).
References
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