Question: It's my first spring in my starter home and I was cleaning the flower bed when I came across this …
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Question
It's my first spring in my starter home and I was cleaning the flower bed when I came across this plant. It has these dried up flowers with Reed like stems but from the ground it's growing almost succulent leaves. I'm not sure if it's 2 separate plants but when I tried removing it they both came up from the ground so it might be one plant. I live in Michigan and I am hesitant to remove native species. Any help identifying it would be much appreciated :)
Answer
sasaad, you've likely photographed a species of Hylotelephium (orpine), a group of plants that formerly belonged to the genus Sedum (stonecrop). These species with succulent leaves and often tuberous roots are part of the Crassulaceae (stonecrop family). Until it flowers, I would not be able to identify it with confidence, but Hylotelephium spectabile (showy orpine) is a commonly cultivated species (which has pink to purple petals).
