Sempervivum calcareum | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Crassulaceae |
Genus: | Sempervivum |
Species: | S. calcareum
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Binomial name | |
Sempervivum calcareum Jord.
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Sempervivium calcareum, the houseleek, is a species of flowering plant in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, native to the southern Alps in Europe. An evergreen succulent perennial, it has a rosette with thick leaves that store water. The leaves are usually green with reddish-purple tips. This plant reproduces with asexual budding and monocarpic sexual reproduction.[1]
Sempervivum calcareum is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant. It is suitable for a well-drained spot in full sun, such as a rockery. The cultivars 'Extra',[2] 'Guillaumes'[3] and 'Sir William Lawrence'[4] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5]