Scientific Name
Sempervivum arachnoideum L.
Common Name(s)
Cobweb Hen and Chick, Cobweb Houseleek, Cobweb Sedum, Spider Web Hens and Chicks
Synonym(s)
Sedum arachnoideum, Sempervivum doellianum, Sempervivum heterotrichum
Scientific Classification
Family: Crassulaceae
Subfamily: Sedoideae
Tribe: Sedeae
Subtribe: Sedinae
Genus: Sempervivum
Origin
Sempervivum arachnoideum is native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Carpathians.
Description
Sempervivum arachnoideum is a succulent plant that forms a mat of compact rosettes of green leaves, usually with brown or red tips and covered with cobwebby hairs. The rosettes are subglobose and can reach a diameter of up to 0.8 inches (2 cm). The leaves are oblanceolate to oblong-obovate, incurved, measuring up to 0.5 inches (1.2 cm) long and 0.2 inches (0.5 cm) wide.
The flowers are pink, star-shaped, 8- to 10-merous, and can reach up to 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) in diameter. They appear in summer in 5- to 15-flowered clusters on stalks with red-tipped leaves with an apical tuft of arachnoid hairs, reaching up to 5 inches (12.5 cm) in height. The mother rosette (hen) dies after flowering but produces many offsets (chicks) before it dies.
This species is highly variable in the size and hairiness of the rosettes.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones 5a to 8b: from −20 °F (−28.9 °C) to 20 °F (−6.7 °C).
How to Grow and Care
It is relatively easy to grow in a container, rock garden, scree bed, wall crevice, trough, or alpine house. It is ideal in many ways, as it quickly forms very tight clusters of rosettes, filling in Sempervivum walls, mosaics, and topiary. Their shallow yet fibrous root systems hold soil in place even in vertical plantings. After the rosette blooms and sets seed, it will die, but many offsets will take its place.
Plant in a well-drained succulent soil mix in full sun to light shade. Water regularly during the growing season and allow the soil to dry out before watering again. Water very little during the winter months.
Learn more at How to Grow and Care for Sempervivum.
Uses
The crushed leaves or their juice are applied externally to boils, wounds, etc. They are also used to stop nose bleeds. The slightly warmed juice has been used to relieve ear inflammations, and toothaches can be relieved by chewing on the leaves. When macerated and infused in vinegar, the plant can be used to get rid of warts and corns.
The leaves are harvested in the summer and are best used when fresh since they are difficult to dry properly. The leaf pulp is used to make a cooling face mask for reddened or sunburned skin.
Subspecies, Cultivars, and Hybrids
- Sempervivum arachnoideum subsp. bryoides
- Sempervivum arachnoideum subsp. tomentosum
- Sempervivum arachnoideum 'Cebenese'
- Sempervivum arachnoideum 'Emily'
- Sempervivum arachnoideum 'Robin'
- Sempervivum arachnoideum 'Rubrum'
- Sempervivum arachnoideum 'Viridescens'
- Sempervivum ×barbulatum
Links
- Back to genus Sempervivum
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
Photo Gallery
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