1. I have this plant which is quite rare – Sedum praealtum – which was sent to me by friends in Brazil. They use it to stop bleeding – they even use it on internal haemorrhages. It does work, I’ve used it on cuts and that sort of thing; you just get a handful, slap it on, and the bleeding stops [Earls Court, London, October 1985].

Images: main, cultivated, Phoenix Garden, London Borough of Camden, March 2015; inset, cultivated, Chelsea Physic Garden, London, April 2025.