Live-forever
Hylotelephium telephium
Found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 2–2.5 feet
- Spread
- 1.5–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- September to October
- Fruiting season
- October to November
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 3 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Sedum
- Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
- Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Junonia coeniaCommon Buckeye
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sedum
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Crassulaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–9b
- Soil pH
- Neutral to alkaline
- Flower color
- Green, pink, purple, red or white
- Fruit begins
- October
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “September to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green, pink, purple, red or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Fruit begins · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “2–2.5 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Minnesota Wildflowers differs)
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1.5–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Live forever; Sedum purpureum; Sedum telephium; stonecrop
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | Not available |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

