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Biting Stonecrop

Sedum acre, Crassulaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called bird's bread, common stonecrop, country pepper, creeping Charlie, creeping Jack, ginger, gold dust, Gold-moss, golden moss, goldmoss stonecrop, Jack of the buttery, love and tangle, Moss Stonecrop, prick-madam, pricket, Stonecrop, tangle tail, wall moss, wall paper and wall pepper.

Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre), the whole plant.
W.carter, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Biting Stonecrop is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. The sap can irritate. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it. RHS

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained or Well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exception
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H7 — colder than -20°C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Chalk, Loam, Sand; pH Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
The sap can irritate. Use gloves and protective gear when handling it.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
It rarely needs water, but it grows in moist soil if drainage is good.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Leaves drop readily, but new plants can be started from the fallen ones.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Increase from seed or division.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Can be troubled by slugs and snails. Diseases: southern blight.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Usually free of pests and diseases.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

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About the plant

Sedum acre, commonly known as the goldmoss stonecrop, mossy stonecrop, goldmoss sedum, biting stonecrop, and wallpepper, is a perennial flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is native to Europe, northern and western Asia and North Africa, but is also naturalised in North America, southern South America, Japan, and New Zealand.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Greenland, Europe to Medit. and Caucasus
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Greenland, Eastern Europe to Mediterranean, Balkans and Caucasus
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Europe Africa Turkey
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
temperate
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
succulent subshrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Ground Cover, Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial, Succulent; habit creeping, dense, horizontal, spreading
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Matforming (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 1–4 in; width 12–24 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height Up to 10 cm; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 2–5 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers gold/yellow; blooms in summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowers yellow in summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

The stems and leaves are edible, though eating a lot of them can upset the stomach.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Sedum

More of the Crassulaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.