‖ sedum
(ˈsiːdəm)
Also 5 cedum.
[L. sedum houseleek.]
† a. A name for certain crassulaceous plants, houseleek, stonecrop, orpine, etc. Obs. b. Bot. A genus of plants (N.O. Crassulaceæ), the British species of which are known as stonecrop.
| c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. x. 47 Let mynge Iuce of cedum smal ygrounde With water. 1548 Turner Names Herbes (E.D.S.) 72 Sedum..the fyrste kynde..is called in englishe Housleke or syngrene... The seconde kynde is called..thryft or stoncroppe... The thyrd kinde is called..Mouse tayle or litle stoncroppe. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort., May (1679) 16 Syringa's, Sedums, Tulips. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 389 You must never water Aloes or Sedums during the whole Winter. 1760 Lee Introd. Bot. App. 326 Sedum, Pyramidal, Saxifraga. 1850 Miss Pratt Comm. Things of Sea-side i. 48 Several of the Sedums..were formerly used as medicine. 1882 Garden 1 Apr. 213/2 The beautiful yellow mossy Sedum. 1894 Fenn In Alpine Valley III. 181 He threw himself down upon some bed of sedums, where quite a couch was formed of the tiny rosettes. |