Abstract:
Sempervivum L. is a genus from the Crassulaceae family. It includes 40 species of evergreen, perennial, succulent, pubescent and monocarpic plants that grow up to 35 cm tall and develop stolons. The leaves are fleshy, ovoid or elongated with a sharp top, also shiny or matte, pubescent with glandular hairs and rarely hairless, ciliated on the edges, the base ones being disposed in a rosette, and the stem ones alternately. The rosettes are dense and have a diameter of 1-15 cm. The floral stem is pubescent, erect and unbranched. The inflorescence is corymbiform. It has hermaphrodite and actinomorphic flowers. The fruit is an elongated follicle.
Sempervivum genus is spread from Maroc to Iran, Turkey, the northeastern part of the Sahara Desert and the Caucasus, the mountains of Iberia, the Alps, the Carpathians and the Balkan Mountain range. It vegetates in the cracks of the rocks. In the spontaneous flora of The Republic of Moldova is found only Sempervivum ruthenicum
Schnittsp. & C.B. Lehm., endangered species (EN), included in The Red Book of the Republic of Moldova (2001, 2015), ex-situ cultivated in the Institute of „Alexandru
Ciubotaru” National Botanical Garden (NBGI). In addition to the species mentioned above, in the collection of the Ornamental plants’ laboratory of NBGI, another 11 taxa
(species and cultivars) are cultivated, such as: Sempervivum globiferum subsp. allionii (Jord. & Fourr.) 't Hart & B. Bleij; S. arachnoideum L.; S. arenarium W.D.J. Koch; S. calcareum Jord; S. grandiflorum Haw.; S. montanum L.; S. ruthenicum Schnittsp. & C.B. Lehm.; S. tectorum L.; S. x hybridum 'Red Papaver'; S. x hybridum 'Noir'; S. x hybridum 'Shadow'.