More frequently found around the coast than inland, English Stonecrop is a fleshy, wiry-stemmed little plant which is commonly found on dry banks, stone walls and shingle. It's a low, mat-forming, evergreen perennial which only reaches about 5cm high and has very pretty star-shaped flowers (12mm across) which have five petals – white above, pink below – which bloom from June to September. The flowers are borne in small cymes. Fleshy, cylindrical, alternate, grey-green leaves become red-tinged as the plant matures. This is a native plant and it belongs to the Crassulaceae family.
I first found this plant growing near Kilternan, Co Dublin in 1976 and I photographed it growing on an old bridge over the Slaney at Scarawalsh, Co Wexford in 2009.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
