Succulents of New York

The most common of the succulents of New York is the Creeping or Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea), with a crimson stem, sage-green leaves and butter-yellow flowers.

Then the Spotted Spurge (Euphorbia maculata) is the second-in-running. These creeping plants are related to Poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) and it is not unusual to see it listed on a list of native plants as Euphorbia supina.

Then comes an unusual plant: creeping Yellow-eyed Stone-crops (Sedum acre). They self-seed like mad, and then EVERY seed germinates, and THEN after germinating, making stolons, creeping, making flowers, setting seed, and — BAM! — they make another stone-crop.

Then comes the Garden Stone-crop (Hylotelephium telephioides). It is like the Yellow-eyed Stone-crop, but less troublesome. It doesn’t creep, either.

Then (last but not least) comes the rare but non-invasive, unintroduced Eastern Hens-and-Chickens (Sempervivum tectorum). These beautiful succulents make tiny pink flowers on 4-inch-high stalks stalks. They are so known that the “Hen” has a stoloniferous growth, and at the top of the stolons grow tiny, baby “Chickens”. These all set seed, and practically every seed germinates. So when you say “Look, a ‘Hen’ near a hen!” only the “Hen” and the hen would understand when you point to a tiny succulent, sitting there with its “Chickens”.