Herbs, perennial, tufted, glabrous. Stems decumbent, branched, bearing terminal rosettes (primary rosettes usually 1 cm diam.). Leaves alternate, spreading, petiolate; blade green or grayish green, not glaucous, narrowly rhombic-elliptic, oblanceolate, or spatulate, sub-terete, 6-11 × 2.5-3.2 mm, base with simple, short spur, not scarious, apex rounded, (surfaces papillose marginally). Flowering shoots erect or pendent, simple, 6-8.5 cm; leaf blades narrowly elliptic or linear, (8.5-18 × 0.7-5.4 mm), base short-spurred; offsets not formed. Inflorescences cymes, 5-30-flowered, 3-branched; branches not recurved, sometimes dichotomously forked; bracts similar to leaves, smaller. Pedicels absent or to 0.5 mm. Flowers 4-merous; sepals spreading, slightly connate basally, green, linear or linear-lanceolate, unequal, 3-8.5 × 0.5-2 mm, apex obtuse; petals spreading, distinct, white, lanceolate, carinate, 3.5-7 mm, apex acute; filaments white; anthers red; nectar scales white, subquadrate or square. Carpels stellate in fruit, distinct, brown. 2n = 12.

Flowering spring. On living mats of mosses and lichens on rocks of quartzite and gneiss, crevices and ledges of cliffs, sometimes talus; 1000 m; Ala., Ga., Tenn.

Sedum nevii has conspicuous lips along the adaxial suture of mature follicles. R. T. Clausen (1975) considered it to be closely related to S. glaucophyllum and possibly conspecific with it; S. nevii has narrower leaves and is not glaucous. Flavonoid chemistry and seed coat morphology support recognizing S. nevii and S. glaucophyllum as separate species (P. J. Calie 1981).