Dudleya edulis

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Fingertips
H20150326-0089--Dudleya edulis--RPBG (16984448205).jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Dudleya
Species:
D. edulis
Binomial name
Dudleya edulis
(Nutt.) Moran
Synonyms [1]
  • Echeveria edulis(Nutt.) A.Berger
  • Sedum eduleNutt.
  • Stylophyllum edulis(Nutt.) Britton & Rose

Dudleya edulis is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names fingertips, lady fingers, mission lettuce and the San Diego dudleya. The common name denotes the finger-like shape of the leaves, while the specific epithet edulis refers to the use of the young scapes as food by the Kumeyaay. It is native to Southern California and northern Baja California, and grows on rocky hillsides, cliffs, and bare rock.

Contents

Description

Dudleya edulis is made up of an array of fleshy, finger-like leaves growing vertically from a caudex at or just below ground level. The fingerlike leaves are pale green, cylindrical and pointed, growing up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) tall. [2] It bears a branching inflorescence 10–50 centimetres (3.9–19.7 in) tall, with several terminal branches each bearing up to 10 or 11 flowers. The flowers have pointed white to cream petals about a centimeter long. The bloom period is May to July. [2] The plant is diploid, with a chromosome number of n=17, which is the base number for Dudleya. [3]

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

Thomas Nuttall discovered the species while on his expedition to California in the 1830s. He found it on the edges of "rocks and ravines, St. Diego" and named it Sedum edule, with the specific epithet owing to the use of the plant as an edible food source by the indigenous peoples. Despite placing it in the genus Sedum , he noted that it was "a remarkable species apparently allied to Ech­everia teretifolia." It is unknown why Nuttall chose to place the plant in Sedum, as he had described the other Dudleya of the region as Echeveria. It is speculated that he likely placed it as Sedum because of the spreading petals on the flowers. [3]

During their revision of North American Crassulaceae, Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose placed the plant in the genus Stylophyllum, which was differentiated from their new genus Dudleya on the basis of round leaves and spreading petals. With Reid Moran's revision of Dudleya, the plants within Stylophyllum were moved, as Stylophyllum was now a subgenera of Dudleya.

Willis L. Jepson once regarded the nearby Dudleya attenuata as a subspecies of this plant, owing to their similar morphology, although they are very distinct. They can be distinguished by the fact that D. attenuata is a smaller plant, with slender and elongated stems, and fewer smaller leaves that are glaucous and clavate to some degree. The leaf bases are also higher, and the inflorescence is simpler with more remote flowers. [3]

It is known to naturally hybridize with Dudleya stolonifera, D. attenuata , D. brevifolia, D. formosa and D. blochmaniae where their ranges overlap. Most of these hybrids are uncommon, and the plants hybridizing with stolonifera may be backcrosses. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The plant is endemic to chaparral habitats, and is native to southwestern Southern California and slightly into northwestern Baja California. [4] It is found north from coastal Orange County and southern Riverside County, south throughout San Diego County into the Rio San Vicente drainage of Baja California, a habitat that spans over 190 miles (305 km), from the Pacific coast east towards the southwest flank of Cuyamaca Peak, around 40 miles inland and up to elevations of 1,300 meters. In its southern distribution, the plant can be found more on north-facing slopes and cliffs. [3]

It grows in rocky slopes and soil, and on rock outcrops and ledges, from sea level to below 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in elevation. [2] It is found in coastal sage scrub and chaparral and woodlands habitats. [4]

Cultivation

Dudleya edulis is cultivated as an ornamental plant, planted in native plant and wildlife gardens, drought tolerant rock gardens, and as specimens in pots. [5] [6] Thomas Nuttall noted the use of the plant as a food source by the indigenous occupants of the land, which gives the plant its specific epithet. [3] The native peoples would harvest the young tender leaves in spring, and eat them raw. The Tiipai members of the Kumeyaay had a specific name for the narrow-leaved Dudleya like this plant, calling them milh kajmila. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dudleya virens</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya virens, the green liveforever or bright green dudleya, is an uncommon species of perennial, succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to several coastal southern California and Baja California locations.

<i>Dudleya</i> North American succulent genus

Dudleya, commonly known as liveforevers is a genus of succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in multiple divergent forms, some large and evergreen, others cryptic and deciduous, but despite their dramatic variations in appearance, most species readily hybridize. The flowers of Dudleya have parts numbered in 5, with the petals arranged in tubular, star-shaped, and bell-shaped forms, and when fruiting are filled with tiny, ovoid to crescent-shaped seeds.

<i>Agave shawii</i> Species of succulent plant from North America

Agave shawii is a species of monocarpic succulent plant in the genus Agave, commonly known as Shaw's agave. It is a rosette-forming plant characterized by glossy, green leaves with toothed margins. After several years of slow growth, the plant puts all of its resources to produce a towering stalk of flowers, and then dies. The death of the flowering rosette is compensated by the growth of numerous clonal pups. This species is segregated into two subspecies, one native to the coast of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California, known commonly as the coast agave, and another native to the Baja California Desert, known as the Goldman agave.

<i>Dudleya abramsii <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> setchellii</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya abramsiisubsp. setchellii, known by common name as the Santa Clara Valley dudleya or Santa Clara Valley liveforever, is a member of the Dudleya genus of succulent perennials, members of the family Crassulaceae. The Santa Clara Valley dudleya, endemic to the Santa Clara Valley region in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, was listed on 3 February 1995, as an endangered species. It is considered to be a subspecies of Dudleya abramsii, but its taxonomic status is still unclear. Its closest relative is Dudleya cymosa subsp. paniculata, which is a morphologically similar sister taxon.

<i>Dudleya blochmaniae</i> Species of deciduous succulent plant from North America

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.

<i>Dudleya candelabrum</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya candelabrum is a species of succulent plant known by the common names candleholder liveforever or candleholder dudleya. Endemic to California, this species grows wild only on the northern Channel Islands, where it is found in open rocky places and north-facing slopes. It is characterized by thin, spade-shaped green leaves and an inflorescence covered in long, reflexed bracts, with pale yellow flowers. It has been threatened by poachers shipping plants to South Korea.

<i>Dudleya densiflora</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya densiflora is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known commonly as the San Gabriel Mountains liveforever or San Gabriel Mountains dudleya. A very rare plant confined to the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, California, it is known only from three to five spots in the mountain range, with an estimated 1,700 individual plants remaining. Growing in the cracks of the granite slopes of three canyons in this single mountain range, it is threatened by human activity such as rock quarrying and off-trail recreation.

<i>Dudleya lanceolata</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya lanceolata is a succulent plant known by the common name lanceleaf liveforever or lance-leaved dudleya. It is an extremely variable and widely ranging species that occurs from Monterey County and Kern County in California south through Ensenada in Baja California. It is characterized by green to purple lanceolate leaves, red, orange, or less commonly yellow petals, and is typically tetraploid. Despite its diversity, it is quite stable as a species, but hybrids may be discovered with other species of Dudleya, which can make it difficult to discern in areas where numerous species converge.

<i>Dudleya stolonifera</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya stolonifera is a succulent plant known by the common name Laguna Beach liveforever or Laguna Beach dudleya. This is a rare plant which is endemic to the coastline of Orange County, California. It is known from only about six populations in the vicinity of Laguna Beach, totaling about 30,000 individuals. It is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States.

<i>Dudleya traskiae</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya traskiae is a rare succulent plant known by the common name Santa Barbara Island liveforever. This Dudleya is endemic to Santa Barbara Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, where it grows on rocky bluffs. The plant has a basal rosette of flat, spade-shaped fleshy leaves up to 15 centimeters long, which are pale green to yellowish. It erects tall stems bearing dense, rounded inflorescences of many bright yellow flowers.

<i>Dudleya brevifolia</i> Rare, small species of succulent plant found in San Diego County

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.

<i>Dudleya abramsii</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya abramsii is a species complex of succulent plants native to California and parts of Baja California. There are numerous subspecies, some critically endangered, with varying habits and lifestyles, but most often characterized by a smaller size, yellow flowers, and an affinity for rocky habitats. The subspecies may be polyphyletic.

<i>Dudleya variegata</i> Species of succulent

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.

<i>Dudleya attenuata</i> Species of succulent

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.

<i>Dudleya ingens</i> Species of succulent

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.

<i>Dudleya anomala</i> Species of plant

Dudleya anomala is a species of succulent plant known by the common name Todos Santos liveforever native to Baja California. It has sticky foliage, small, narrow leaves, spreading petals, and is found primarily on islands.

<i>Dudleya gatesii</i> Species of succulent plant

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.

<i>Dudleya campanulata</i> Succulent plant native to Baja California, Mexico

Dudleya campanulata is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common name as the Punta Banda liveforever, native to Baja California and endemic to the Punta Banda peninsula, a promontory south of Ensenada that encloses the southern limit of the Bahía de Todos Santos, a deepwater bay. One of many species of Dudleya native to the peninsula and surrounding islands, it is distinguished by its campanulate flowers and its occupation of a narrow habitat that consists of ocean bluffs on the southern end of the Punta Banda, near the well-known blowhole La Bufadora.

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.

<i>Dudleya cymosa <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> pumila</i> Subspecies of plant

Dudleya cymosasubsp. pumila, most commonly known as the low canyon dudleya, chalky canyon dudleya or California live-forever, is a species of perennial succulent plant. It has diamond to spoon shaped leaves, sometimes coated with a fine white powder, and in May through July, bright red, orange or yellow flowers adorn the short inflorescence. A leaf succulent primarily found growing in rocky cliffs and slopes, it is endemic to California, and grows in the Transverse Ranges and South Coast Ranges, with some outlying populations. A variable plant, in some localities it is difficult to distinguish from other plants in the genus.

References

  1. The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species , retrieved 28 July 2016
  2. 1 2 3 Jepson Flora Project (ed.). Dudleya edulis Jepson eFlora The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Moran, Reid (1992). "Dudleya edulis (Nutt.) Moran". Cactus & Succulent Journal of America.
  4. 1 2 Calflora: Dudleya edulis
  5. "Theodore Payne Foundation, California Natives Wiki: Dudleya edulis". Archived from the original on 2016-08-16. Retrieved 2016-07-09.
  6. Las Pilitas Nursery Horticulture Database: Dudleya edulis (Fingertips, Lady Fingers, San Diego Dudleya)
  7. Wilken, Michael A. (2012) An Ethnobotany of Baja California's Kumeyaay Indians. Retrieved 10 November 2021