Sedum balfourii Raymond-Hamet, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 5: 116. 1912; Rhodiola balfourii (Raymond-Hamet) S. H. Fu; Sedum banlanense Limpricht; S. mossii Raymond-Hamet; S. orichalcum W. W. Smith.

Rootstock short, thick. Rosette to 7 cm in diam.; rosette leaves suboblong to oblong, 1.5-3 × 0.2-0.5 cm, margin sometimes apically ciliate. Flowering stems 1 to several, erect, slender, 10-30 cm; stem leaves oblong to lanceolate, 0.8-2 cm, base spurred, margin ciliate or glabrous, apex acute. Inflorescences cymose-scorpioid; peduncle arcuate; pedicels short. Sepals triangular to suboblong, 2-3 mm, apically often minutely papillate, apex acute. Petals ± free, brassy yellow, oblong, 5-7 mm, midvein often minutely papillate, apex mucronate. Stamens 10(or 12), ca. 3/4 as long as petals. Nectar scales narrowly linear, ca. 0.7 mm, apex subobtuse. Carpels suberect, 4-5 mm, base connate for 0.5-0.7 mm. Styles slender, ca. 2 mm. Follicles many seeded. Seeds ovoid, ca. 0.6 mm, smooth. Fl. Sep, fr. Oct.

* Thickets in ravines, scrub, sunny grasslands, rocky slopes, rocks along trails, rock crevices in valleys; 2700-4000 m. W Sichuan, NW Yunnan.