Common houseleek is a succulent plant with a creeping growth habit. When it blooms, it can grow up to 50 centimeters tall. The leaf rosette is 5 to 15 centimeters wide. It consists of lanceolate, green-blue leaf blades with red tips and hairy edges.
Common houseleek is native to the mountains of Southern and Eastern Europe. In the Middle Ages, people planted it because they thought that it protects the roofs of their houses from lightning strikes. Common houseleek is also said to have medicinal properties. From corns and insomnia to burns and impotence, this plant is believed to cure all ailments.