Herbs, perennial, somewhat tufted, glabrous. Stems root-stocks and erect shoots, branched proximally, sometimes bearing rosettes. Leaves alternate, spreading to ascending, sessile; blade blue-green, not glaucous, linear-oblanceolate, terete to subterete, 4-9(-15) × 1-2 mm, base broadly spurred, not scarious, apex obtuse. Flowering shoots erect or ascending, simple or branched, 1-4(-9) cm, (with small glistening patches); leaf blades linear-oblanceolate, base truncate or spurred; offsets not formed. Inflorescences compact, 3-parted cymes, (5-)10-25-flowered, monochasially branched; branches erect to spreading or recurved, rarely forked; bracts suboblong, base truncate or spurred. Pedicels absent. Flowers 5-6-merous; sepals erect to spreading, distinct, blue-green, linear to narrowly oblong, unequal, ca. 2-4(-6) × 0.7-1.5 mm, apex obtuse; petals spreading, distinct, white tinged with purple, oblong, somewhat carinate, 4-7 mm, apex acute or broadly mucronate; filaments white; anthers purplish; nectar scales dark pink, spatulate. Carpels stellately spreading in fruit, distinct, stramineous. 2n = 19, 22, 24, 44, 52. Flowering mid summer. Grassland, moist areas, moist cliffs in conifer forests; 300-3000 m; Ariz., Colo., N.Mex.; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango). Sedum stelliforme has glistening patches on the flowering branches and sepals. It is found in southern Colorado, Graham, Greenlee, and Apache counties in Arizona, the Zuni Mountains and Fort Wingate in New Mexico, and on the Mexican Plateau. More information is needed to determine whether S. topsentii should be separated from S. stelliforme.

Plant: perennial herb; Stems erect, simple or branching mostly above base, with some sterile branches but few or no basal rosettes, 5-15 cm high in flower, to 5 mm thick, the roots mostly slender Leaves: often crowded, subterete, linear to oblong, obtuse, truncate to obtuse at base, broadly spurred, mostly smooth at maturity, 4-8(-15) mm long, 1-2 mm wide, often withering persistent INFLORESCENCE: CYMES mostly 2-3-branched, sometimes broad, open, the branches even to 8 cm long Flowers: white or at center pinkish, 7-14 mm wide; sepals nearly equal, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, blunt, conspicuously spurred, slightly papillose, 2-4(-6) mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide; petals lanceolate, blunt to broadly acute, 4-7 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide; pistils erect, 4-5 mm high Fruit: FOLLICLES widely spreading, the body 3-5 mm long, to 2.5 mm wide, abruptly narrowed into style; SEEDS ovoid, mammillate, 0.5 mm long Misc: Rocky places in pines; 1950-3000 m (6400-9800 ft); Jul-Sep REFERENCES: Moran, Reid. 1994. Bixaceae. J. Ariz. – Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27, 190-194.