How to identify Burro's tail (Sedum morganianum)

How to identify Burro's tail (Sedum morganianum)

Burro's tail, also known as Lamb's tail, Donkey tail

Burro's tail is recognized for its trailing growth habit with stems that can reach lengths of up to 3 feet (90 cm), making it an ideal hanging plant. The leaves are succulent and fleshy, shaped like small bananas or peapods, which cascade elegantly down its stems. These leaves are a soft mint to teal green and may have a slight bluish tint, contributing to the plant's ornamental appeal. Tiny flowers can emerge on burro's tail, adding to its decorative nature, although it is primarily cultivated for its distinctive foliage.

Lifespan: Perennial

Plant Type: Succulent, Vine, Herb

Leaf Type: Evergreen

Quickly Identify Burro's tail

Trailing stems up to 3 feet (90 cm) long

Succulent, boat-shaped leaves with a bluish-green hue

Small, deep pink flowers with yellow anthers

Star-shaped, dry fruit less than 0.4 inches (1 cm)

Smooth, succulent stems with a braided appearance

Detailed Traits of Burro's tail

Leaf Features

The leaves of burro's tail are succulent, fleshy, and turgid, with a jelly-bean or boat shape. They are lance-shaped, spindle-shaped, and incurved, measuring approximately 0.8 inches (20 mm) long and 0.3 inches (8 mm) wide. These leaves are spirally arranged, overlapping, and closely-whorled around the stem, displaying a powdery-green to bluish-green color due to a whitish bloom that gives them a silver appearance. The surface of the leaves is smooth, and the bloom can rub off on contact.

Learn About the Leaf Glossary

Flower Features

The flowers of burro's tail are small yet striking, featuring deep pink petals approximately 0.47 inches (12 mm) in diameter. Each flower has five free, spreading petals and green sepals. The flowers are held on slender pedicels and are borne in few-flowered, pendulous cymes at the ends of stems. Notably, these flowers secrete abundant nectar, enhancing their allure. They also have yellow anthers, adding a vibrant contrast to the pink sepals. Blooms are typically found on mature specimens with stems at least 10 inches (25 cm) long.

Learn About the Flower Glossary

Stem Features

Burro's tail exhibits numerous, prostrate to pendulous stems that can grow up to 3 feet (90 cm) long, and occasionally reach up to 4 feet (1.2 meters). The stems are sparsely branched and densely covered with fleshy, overlapping leaves, giving them a braided appearance. Their texture is smooth and succulent, ideal for retaining moisture, and they tend to be somewhat thick. These unique, long, and pendulous stems are key characteristics for identifying burro's tail.

Learn About the Stem Glossary

Fruit Features

The fruit of burro's tail is a diminutive, star-shaped follicle, often less than 0.4 inches (1 cm) in size. As they mature, they transition from a green to a brownish hue. These small fruits, nestled among the foliage, bear tiny, black seeds that are released when the follicles split open along one side. Their texture is dry and papery, contrasting with the succulent leaves of burro's tail. These fruits, though not often observed due to the plant's popularity as an ornamental for its trailing stems and leaves, are a key feature for the plant's propagation.

Learn About the Fruit Glossary

A Botanist in Your Pocket

Scan QR code to download

More Plants You May Like and How to Identify Them

Cape jasmine

Gardenia jasminoides is an evergreen shrub with unique, glossy evergreen leaves and stunning flowers. The sophisticated, matte white flowers are often used in bouquets. The exceptional beauty of this ornamental plant has made it a popular and highly appreciated plant amongst gardeners and horticulturalists.

Golden pothos

The golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum) is a popular houseplant that is commonly seen in Australia, Asia, and the West Indies. It goes by many nicknames, including "devil's ivy", because it is so hard to kill and can even grow in low light conditions. Golden pothos has poisonous sap, so it should be kept away from pets and children.

Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum is an annual or perennial herbaceous vine native to Central and South America that produces a large, juicy, edible fruit known as tomato. Today there are over 10000 cultivated varieties. Although tomato is the world’s most popular vegetable, botanically it is a fruit.

Pepper

The pepper are commonly used for cooking in places such as the Southern U.S. and Central America. Most are moderately spicy, though because there are so many variants, the spice level can vary dramatically. Cayenne powder is also a popular seasoning product made from pepper plants.

Swiss cheese plant

The swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa) produces bright, glossy leaves and makes a popular houseplant. It is originally native to tropical forest regions in Central America. The nickname swiss cheese plant refers to the small holes that develop in the plant's leaves. The long fruits resemble corncobs and smell sweet and fragrant when ripe.

Bigleaf hydrangea

The bigleaf hydrangea is a deciduous shrub native to Japan, and is known for its lush, oval, colorful inflorescence. The two types of Hydrangea macrophylla are mopheads - with large, ball-shaped, sterile flower clusters, and lace capes - with small round fertile flowers in the center, and sterile flowers on the outer side of each inflorescence. Depending on soil pH, blooms can change color from pink to blue.

Burro's tail and Their Similar Plants

Coppertone sedum vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

The coppertone sedum is a small, succulent plant with a light green or orange appearance. It grows best in sunny environments. Originally native to Mexico, the coppertone sedum has spread around the world as a windowsill plant, and is especially popular in the Canary Islands and Italy.

Carpet sedum vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

Carpet sedum (Sedum lineare) is also known as variegated stonecrop and needle stonecrop. It’s an exceedingly low-maintenance plant. In fact, one of the reasons it’s called stonecrop is that farmers have joked that “only stones need less care than sedum.” Another reason is the plant is often found growing over stones and rocks.

White stonecrop vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

White stonecrop (Sedum album) is a flowering plant species that often grows in crevices or free-draining rocky soil. White stonecrop grows in temperate regions all over the world. It is adapted to grow in dry, thin soils and is often found growing on walls, dry banks, seashore rocks and in rocky meadows. This species grows low to the ground and cannot compete when there are other, fast-growing species in the same area.

Jellybeans vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

Jellybeans (Sedum pachyphyllum) is a succulent plant native to Mexico and popularized as a houseplant. Jellybeans is an easy plant to care for and good for beginners in houseplants and gardening. It can survive in both moist and dry soil and survives without watering for longer periods of time than most plants.

Stringy stonecrop vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

Stringy stonecrop is a perennial plant with stems that can be up to 25 cm length. It has star-shaped flowers that are yellow-green. This plant is extremely easy to propagate, simply pushing one of the stems into the ground in your desired location is enough to usually cause stringy stonecrop to take root.

Goldmoss stonecrop vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

The goldmoss stonecrop is a flowering perennial with star-shaped flowers. It is commonly used in hanging baskets and other container gardens as groundcover and trailing accents. Because of its spicy and peppery flavor, the leaves and stems of this plant are used as flavor enhancers in some recipes.

Tree stonecrop vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

Tree stonecrop (Sedum dendroideum) is a perennial shrub native to Mexico. It grows best in warm, arid environments, but it can survive in cooler climates. Tree stonecrop is naturalized in California within the United States and is often cultivated in gardens.

Tiscalatengo gorge sedum vs. Burro's tail: What's The Difference?

Tiscalatengo gorge sedum tends to develop lateral buds and grow cespitose, therefore the plant can often be seen in large clusters. With sufficient light and broad temperature variation, its leaves turn a jelly-like light green or yellowish-green with red tips. When exposed to sunlight, it emits a light fruity aroma. Propagation by leaf-cutting is rarely successful, so it's generally propagated by cutting and division.

Identify Burro's tail easily and quickly

We're also capable of identifying over 12,000 types of plants, flowers, succulents, and trees in your surroundings.

Identify a Plant Online

Key Facts About Burro's tail

Attributes of Burro's tail

Plant Type

Succulent, Vine, Herb

Plant Height

30 cm to 1.2 m

Spread

30 cm to 60 cm

Leaf Color

Green

Blue

Gray

Silver

Flower Size

2.5 cm

Flower Color

Red

Pink

Purple

Yellow

Orange

Stem Color

Green

Blue

Purple

Identify plants with a snap

Instantly identify plants with AI: Snap a photo, and get accurate results within seconds.

Download the App for Free

Scientific Classification of Burro's tail

Phylum

Vascular plants

Class

Dicotyledons

Order

Saxifrages, stonecrops and allies

Family

Stonecrop

Genus

Stonecrops

Species

Burro's tail (Sedum morganianum)

Learn More About the Burro's tail

Distribution Map of Burro's tail

Burro's tail is primarily native to Central America. Beyond its natural habitats, burro's tail has been introduced and now flourishes in various parts of North America and Asia, evidence of its adaptability. Furthermore, burro's tail is commonly cultivated, highlighting its ease of care and popularity across different climates.

Native

Cultivated

Invasive

Potentially invasive

Exotic

No species reported

Learn More About the Burro's tail

A Comprehensive Guide to Burro's tail How to Grow and Care for Burro's tail