Sempervivum tectorum

Growing to tall by broad, it is a rosette-forming succulent evergreen perennial, spreading by offsets. It has grey-green, tufted, sessile leaves, in diameter, which are often suffused with rose-red. In summer it bears clusters of reddish-purple flowers, in multiples of 8–16, on hairy erect flat-topped stems. The species is highly variable, in part because hundreds of cultivars have been propagated, sold, and traded for nearly 200 years. ==Names==

This plant has been known to humans for thousands of years, and has attracted many common names and traditions. In addition to common houseleek, names include variations of the following: • bullock's beard       • devil's beard • earwort • fuet • healing blade • homewort • imbroke • Jove's beard • Jupiter's eye • poor Jan's leaf • red-leaved houseleek       • roof foil • roof houseleek • St. George's Beard—a name it sometimes shares with Sedum acre. • hen and chicks - a name shared with several other plants The specific epithet tectorum means "of house roofs", referring to a traditional location for these plants. ==Cultivation and propagation==

Sempervivum tectorum is one of several houseleek species to be cultivated. It is valued as groundcover for hot, dry places. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Sempervivum tectorum multiplies horizontally by propagation of underground roots. Propagation occurs in the spring, when budding occurs. From each mother plant up to four or, on good days, ten new ones can be harvested. They come off easily when taking care not to break the roots. Seed propagation works in spring. ==Folklore and herbalism==

The plant has been traditionally thought to protect against thunderstorms, and grown on house roofs for that reason, which is why it is called House Leek. It is also called simply thunder-plant. Anglo-Saxon þunorwyrt may have either meaning. However, the association with Jupiter has also been derived from a resemblance between the flowers and the god's beard; in modern times, it has also been called St. George's beard. Other common names, such as Anglo-Saxon singrēne, Modern English sigrim, sil-green, etc. and aye-green, refer to its longevity. William Fernie tells a tale in support of this: It has been believed to protect more generally against decay and against witchcraft. In some places, S. tectorum is still traditionally grown on the roofs of houses. In Ireland, the houseleek was known as and was placed over doorways and in cow-dung; it was believed to protect a house from lightning-strike or burning. Other names included ("house-boy"), roofleek, waxplant or ("herb of the fire"). The juice has been used in herbal medicine as an astringent and treatment for skin and eye diseases, including by Galen and Dioscorides, to ease inflammation and, mixed with honey, to treat thrush; however, large doses have an emetic effect. Pliny also mentions it, and Marcellus Empiricus listed it as a component in external treatments for contusions, nervous disorders, intestinal problems and abdominal pain, and mixed with honey, as part of the antidotum Hadriani (Hadrian's antidote), a broad-spectrum palliative for internal complaints. Romans grew the plant in containers in front of windows and associated it with love medicine. Image:Sempervivum Tectorum Greenii, Huntington.jpg|Sempervivum tectorum "Greenii", Huntington Desert Garden Image:Sempervivum tectorum boutignyanum-1.JPG|Sempervivum tectorum boutignyanum in flower Image:Sempervivum tectorum (1) 1 (ex Pyrenees).JPG|Rosette with drops of dew Image:Illustration Sempervivum tectorum0.jpg|Illustration from Otto Wilhelm Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885 Image:SempervivumTectorum.jpg|Sempervivum tectorum with flowers in Uppsala Botaniska Trädgården Image:Sempervivum_tectorum_abl1.JPG|Flower of cultivated variety, photographed in Spain ==References==