Sempervivum
genus of plants
Sempervivum () is a genus of about 40 species of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, commonly known as houseleeks. Other common names include liveforever (the source of the taxonomical designation Sempervivum, literally "always/forever alive") and hen and chicks, a name shared with plants of other genera as well. They are succulent perennials forming mats composed of tufted leaves in rosettes. In favourable conditions they spread rapidly via offsets, and several species are valued in cultivation as groundcover for dry, sunny locations.
Habitat
Houseleeks exist from Morocco to Iran, through the mountains of Iberia, the Alps, Carpathians, Balkan mountains, Turkey, the Armenian mountains, in the northeastern part of the Sahara Desert, and the Caucasus. Their ability to store water in their thick leaves allows them to live on sunny rocks and stony places in the mountain, subalpine and alpine belts. Most are hardy to US zone 4, and will handle warm climates to about zone 9.
Subtropical origin
Morphologically, they are similar to the genera Jovibarba, Aeonium, Greenovia, Aichryson, and Monanthes, occurring mainly in Macaronesia (Azores, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira). Some botanists include some or all of these genera within a wider interpretation of Sempervivum, particularly Jovibarba.
Origin of name
The name Sempervivum has its origin in the Latin semper ("always") and vivus ("living"), a calque of Ancient Greek ἀείζωον ("houseleek", literally "(the) forever-living (one)"), because this perennial plant keeps its leaves in winter and is very resistant to difficult conditions of growth.
“Sempervivum” enters the record as genus of plants. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sempervivum, genus and plants can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q161695. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sempervivum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.