Dudleya crassifolia | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Crassulaceae |
Genus: | Dudleya |
Species: | D. crassifolia |
Binomial name | |
Dudleya crassifolia Dodero & M. G. Simpson | |
Dudleya crassifolia is a species of drought deciduous, corm-forming succulent plant known by common name as the thick-leaf dudleya. It is an incredibly rare and cryptic plant native to one small locale less than a hectare in area on the Colonet peninsula in Baja California. It is threatened by urban development, including a proposed seaport. It is characterized by white, spreading flowers with leaf bases that are persistent on the stem. [1] Although it did not receive as much media attention as the neighboring Dudleya hendrixii , it has been noted that the plant has several similarities to cryptic succulents like Anacampseros . [2]
This Dudleya is one of numerous species in the genus that form a corm out of their caudex, an underground storage organ that helps them survive. This means that plants can persist even when their above-ground features have gone. [1]
The plants may have anywhere from one to 10 rosettes, branching at the base. The caudex is shaped cylindrically or irregularly, and is 1 to 5.5 cm long, 2 to 20 mm thick, with a persistent, conspicuous dried leaf base from previous seasons. This is in contrast to the leaves of other deciduous Dudleya that disappear and typically do not persist after. There are 3 to 21 leaves in a rosette. The leaf shape of mature plants is oblanceolate. The tip of the leaf is acuminate to acute. The leaves are 6 to 35 mm long, 3 to 11 mm wide, 1.5 to 7.5 mm thick, with the petioles 0.9 to 12.4 mm long, and 1 to 8 mm wide. The leaf blade is only slightly wider than the petiole. The leaves are drought deciduous, but the dried leaf base is persistent. [1]
Juvenile plants may have globose leaves with rounded tips, and narrower petioles. [1]
The inflorescence is 6 to 17 cm tall, with the peduncle 1.5 to 3.5 mm thick at the base. The bracts start within 1 to 2 cm of the base, with 7 to 19 lower bracts, shaped ovate to widely ovate, with an acute tip. The lowermost bracts are 9 to 20 mm long, 6 to 11 mm wide, and 3 to 7 mm thick. There are 2 to 3 ascending branches on the inflorescence that may rebranch once. The terminal branches are 1 to 4 cm long, and have 2 to 10 flowers. The pedicels are ascending, 1 to 3.5 mm long. The flowers have a characteristic "musky" odor. The sepals are shaped narrowly triangular to ovate, with acute to acuminate tips. The petals are white, fused at the base 1 to 2 mm (connation), with the keel and the base of the corolla colored maroon. [1]
Plants flower from late May to June. Chromosome number is n = 34. Seed dispersal is via wind or rain, with the seeds moving along with grains of sand on a windy day. In optimal conditions, germination may occur in less than 72 hours. [1]
This species is endemic to Baja California in Mexico. This plant grows 7 miles south of the town of Colonet, on the reddish sandstone bluffs of a mesa. It grows in maritime chaparral, on a soil with iron concretions, similar to Dudleya brevifolia 's habitat, which is also on a sandstone bluff with iron concretions. The entire locality where Dudleya crassifolia occurs is less than one hectare. It shares the general locality with numerous species of Dudleya, including other deciduous species like Dudleya hendrixii and Dudleya blochmaniae . [1] [3] [4]
This plant is likely pollinated by members of the sand wasp group Bembicinae, and beetle species of Dasytes . Rabbits and small rodents are significant herbivores of the plant, especially consuming it in dry periods. The leaves of the plant are also consumed during the winter growing season. Plants may re-sprout from beneath the soil even if the above-ground parts appear to be dead. [1]
Dudleya blochmaniae is a summer-deciduous succulent plant known by the common names Blochman's liveforever or Blochman's dudleya. This species of Dudleya survives part of the year with no aboveground presence, surviving as underground corm-like roots in deciduous months. It is characterized by white, star-shaped and spreading flowers that emerge after sufficient rainfall. It is found along the Pacific coast of the California Floristic Province, from the vicinity of San Luis Obispo in California to Punta Colonet in Baja California.
Dudleya caespitosa is a succulent plant known by several common names, including sea lettuce, sand lettuce, and coast dudleya. It is endemic to California, where it grows along the coastline in the southern half of the state. Taxonomically, this species is a highly variable complex of polymorphic and polyploid plants, closely related to numerous neighboring species such as Dudleya farinosa, Dudleya greenei and Dudleya palmeri. It is delimited from neighboring species on an arbitrary basis of distribution and chromosome number, and may not be immediately separable from the other species it approaches.
Dudleya farinosa is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by several common names, including bluff lettuce, powdery liveforever, and powdery dudleya. A coastal plant of northern California and southern Oregon, it is typically found on oceanic bluffs just directly above the reach of the waves. Its appearance is characterized by lotus-like rosettes of beveled leaves, and in summer the plant erects a tall pink to red stem densely covered in foliage, topped with branches adorned with pale yellow flowers. The green or white rosettes of this plant can be seen covering stretches of rocky coast and nearby islets.
Dudleya brevifolia, is a rare succulent plant known by the common name short-leaved liveforever, short-leaved dudleya or rarely the Del Mar Hasseanthus. It is an edaphic endemic that only grows on the mesas of the most ancient marine terraces, hiding in the vicinity of ironstone concretions. The leaves are deciduous, and disappear after the inflorescence develops. When flowering, it has a conspicuous white flower, which is in the shape of a star with a yellow center. After flowering, any above-ground trace of the plant will disappear, and it survives under the earth with a starch-rich subterranean caudex. It is only found on a strip of coast in San Diego County, California.
Dudleya greenei is a perennial species of succulent plant known by the common names Greene's liveforever, or Greene's dudleya. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it grows along the cliffs of four of the eight islands. It is a highly variable plant, presenting with multiple forms and varying levels of ploidy. Taxonomically, this species is an insular segregate of Dudleya caespitosa, and was placed as a stopgap taxon by Reid Moran in his 1951 thesis on the genus. It is characterized by white or green leaf rosettes, loomed over by inflorescences bearing pale yellow to white flowers. It is a member of the subgenus Dudleya, as it cannot be propagated from leaf cuttings, does not grow from a corm, and has tight petals.
Dudleya variegata is a deciduous succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names variegated liveforever, variegated dudleya or rarely San Diego Hasseanthus. A cryptic plant that survives part of the year dormant underground from starch reserves in a corm, after sufficient rainfall, leaves will emerge, soon giving way to small inflorescences with yellow star-shaped flowers. It is native to Baja California and adjacent San Diego County in California, where it grows in several habitat types, including chaparral and vernal pools.
Dudleya attenuata is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common name taper-tip liveforever, native to Baja California and a small portion of California. A rosette-forming leaf succulent, it has narrow pencil shaped leaves that can often be found covered in a white epicuticular wax. The thin, sprawling stems branch to form the clusters of rosettes, with plants creating a "clump" up to 40 cm wide. The small flowers are white or yellow, with 5 spreading petals. It is a diverse, variable species that extends from the southernmost coast of San Diego County to an area slightly north of the Vizcaino Desert, hybridizing with many other species of Dudleya in its range. Some plants with white or pinkish flowers were referred to as Orcutt's liveforever, referring to a former subspecies split on the basis of the flower color.
Dudleya ingens is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the rock liveforever or Baja liveforever. A relatively large member of the genus Dudleya, this species has long green succulent leaves, and in April to June is characterized by pale yellow to white pink-tinged flowers topping tall, reddish inflorescences. It has a stem clothed densely with old, leathery leaves, and the inflorescence may be nodding, with the floral branches bearing the flowers tending to unfurl like the fronds of a fern. It is similar in appear to Dudleya brittonii, but differs in range and chromosome number. This species is endemic to the state of Baja California in Mexico, being found from Santo Tomás to the southern coast of the state.
Dudleya guadalupensis is a very rare species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the Guadalupe liveforever. It is a rosette-forming leaf succulent, with foliage that is variously colored light green, green, and a waxy white. It is characterized by dense leaves that fold over the center in dormancy, a curving, sinuous flower stalk, and white, cup-shaped flowers. It is endemic to the rocks and islets off of Guadalupe Island, an isolated volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean located 241 kilometers off of the coast of Baja California.
Dudleya pauciflora is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name few-flower liveforever. It is characterized by its small, crowded rosettes of narrow leaves, and its colorful inflorescence with strongly red-marked yellow flowers. Found growing on rocky outcrops and cliffs in the high elevation mountains of the Sierra de San Pedro Martir and the Sierra de San Borja, it is endemic to the state of Baja California, Mexico.
Dudleya gatesii, known by the common name as Gates'liveforever, is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is native to the central desert of the Baja California peninsula, found growing along dry and rocky outcroppings. It is characterized by red inflorescences topped with white flowers, bracts that are often reflexed downwards, and a rosette of dark-green leaves turning reddish.
Dudleya formosa, known by the common name La Misión liveforever, is a species of perennial succulent plant endemic to the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California. It is characterized by bright green leaves, red floral stems, and pink flowers.
Dudleya rubens is a species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name as the San Francisco liveforever, native to the mountains of Baja California Sur. It is a rosette-forming plant with waxy leaves, characterized by branching stems and dull red to apricot flowers. It is only found above 500 metres (1,600 ft) in the Sierra de San Francisco and the Sierra de la Giganta ranges in Baja California Sur, primarily on north-facing volcanic slopes.
Dudleya cultrata is a species of perennial succulent in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the knife-leaved liveforever or the maritime succulent liveforever. This species is characterized by oblong, narrow green leaves and flowers with pale yellow petals that bloom from April to June. Although similar to Dudleya ingens, this species is most often seen growing sympatric with the larger, wax-covered Dudleya anthonyi. It is native to Baja California, occurring on the coast from Punta Colonet and San Quintin to El Rosario.
Dudleya candida is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names Coronados liveforever or chalk rose. It is a rosette-forming, green to white-colored leaf succulent, and in bloom yellow flowers atop red stalks stand above the foliage. It has some visual similarities to the mainland Dudleya brittonii, and has found uses in horticulture as an ornamental plant. It is restricted to the Coronado Islands, an island group off of the extreme northern Baja California coast, visible from the United States.
Dudleya acuminata is a species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae known by common name as the Vizcaino liveforever. A rosette-forming leaf succulent, it has reddish yellow flowers that emerge from April to May. It is native to the Pacific coast of the Vizcaino Desert on the Baja California Peninsula, and on neighboring islands.
Dudleya nubigena is a species of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae. It is a rosette forming perennial with flattish leaves. Endemic to southern Baja California Sur, the species is found in the Sierra de la Laguna and the surrounding lowlands, and on Cerralvo Island.
Dudleya abramsii subsp. abramsii is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name as Abrams' liveforever. It is a small, delicate plant found growing among rocks, and is characterized by yellow flowers with a red tinge that emerge from May to July. It is native to the southern Sierra Nevada of California and the Peninsular Ranges across both the United States and Mexico.
Dudleya cymosasubsp. costatifolia, known commonly as the Pierpoint Springs dudleya or the Pierpoint Springs liveforever, is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae, narrowly endemic to a locality in Tulare County, California, United States. It is a clumping plant with small rosettes and bright yellow flowers, resembling alpine "cushion plants."
Dudleya cymosasubsp. cymosa is a species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae native to California. It is the autonymous subspecies for Dudleya cymosa, and is known by the common name canyon liveforever. It is native to the California Coast Ranges, the Sierra Nevada and the Santa Monica Mountains. It is characterized by bright-yellow, orange or red flowers and broad, wide leaves. This plant is commonly found growing on rocky outcrops, talus slopes, and in shaded canyons.
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Photo of the plant with developing inflorescences, by Alan Harper