Rhodiola tibetica

Family: Crassulaceae

What it is like

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It has a large underground stem or rhizome. This has scaly leaves. There are many flowering stems on each rhizome. They are 7-25 cm long and 1-2 mm wide. The young leaves are red and succulent. The leaves on the stems are alternate and do not have leaf stalks. They are 5-13 mm long by 2-4 mm wide. Plants are separately male and female. The fruit are dry and have many seeds.

Where it is found

It is a subtropical and temperate plant. It grows at high altitudes. In Pakistan it grows between 3,000-4,800 m altitude. In Tibet in China it grows between 4,100-5,400 m above sea level. It grows on rocks and hilly slopes.

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Asia, China, Himalayas, India, Pakistan, Tibet

How it is used for food

The young leaves and stem are boiled in some changes of water to remove bitterness then dried and used as a vegetable.

Edible parts

Leaves

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Kindut, Shrolo-marpo, Shrolu

Synonyms

Sedum stracheyi Hook. f. & Thomson; Sedum tibeticum Hook. f. & Thomson; Sedum tibeticum var. stracheyi (Hook. f. &Thomson) C. B. Clarke;