Ditch stonecrop

Description

Penthorum sedoides is a terrestrial plant that grows to 30-60 cm in height, with upright stems. It is native to eastern North America, from Canada to the southern United States, and thrives in wet areas such as riverbanks and ditches. The leaves are elliptical-lanceolate or lanceolate-obovate, with serrated edges and pointed tips. Small cream-colored, greenish-brown, or reddish flowers appear in clusters at the stem tip during high summer to late autumn. The plant is hardy in outdoor culture and can propagate itself easily. It has attractive red to pink fall coloration and overwinters by sending out creeping rhizomes. In aquarium culture, P. sedoides has been found to be suitable as a submersed aquatic plant, although it is not well-known in European aquaristics. The leaves underwater are smaller, more compact, and denser than those above water, with lanceolate shape and serrated edges.