Dudleya ingens

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Dudleya ingens
Dudleya ingens 38540165.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Dudleya
Species:
D. ingens
Binomial name
Dudleya ingens
Rose
Dudleya ingens distribution map.png
Distribution of Dudleya ingens (green)
Synonyms [1]
  • Dudleya eximiaJohanss.
  • Dudleya tenuifoliaP.H. Thomson
  • Echeveria ingens(Rose) A.Berger

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 appearance to Dudleya brittonii , but differs in range and chromosome number. [2] This species is endemic to the state of Baja California in Mexico, being found from Santo Tomás to the southern coast of the state. [3]

Contents

Description

As a member of the subgenus Dudleya, this species has a basal rosette with evergreen leaves and a flower with tight petals that form a tube. The stem (referred to as a caudex) is densely clothed with old leathery leaves, branching rarely. On top of the caudex is a rosette containing the vegetative leaves. There are up to 70 leaves, which are green or slightly glaucous. The floral stem is reddish and tall, with up to 30 bracts. The inflorescence is nodding in immaturity, and has terminal branches that may unfurl like a fern. The terminal branches have up to 20 flowers. The flowers have petals that are colored a pale yellow to white. [2]

Morphology

The caudex on this species ranges from 1.5 to 6 cm (0.59 to 2.36 in) thick, and may be short or elongating to up to 40 cm (16 in), unbranched or only branching a few times. The rosettes are 5 to 40 cm (2.0 to 15.7 in) in diameter, containing 20–70 leaves. The leaves are green or have a slightly glaucous surface texture. The leaves are shaped oblong, tapering from the base or somewhat broadened in the upper third, 7 to 25 cm (2.8 to 9.8 in) long, 1 to 5.5 cm (0.39 to 2.17 in) wide, 3 to 11 mm (0.12 to 0.43 in) thick, with the margins acute towards the base, the base of the leaf 1.5 to 6 cm (0.59 to 2.36 in) wide and 1 to 3 mm (0.039 to 0.118 in) high. The old leaves when dry are thick and leathery, densely clothing the caudex. [2] [4]

The floral stems are reddish, 30 to 90 cm (12 to 35 in) tall, and 4 to 15 mm (0.16 to 0.59 in) thick, covered in about 10–30 leaves, leafless in the lower 10 to 30 cm (3.9 to 11.8 in) base. The cauline leaves are positioned mostly horizontal to ascending, shaped triangular, with an acute tip, the lowermost 1 to 4 cm (0.39 to 1.57 in) long and 7 to 20 mm (0.28 to 0.79 in) wide. The inflorescence may sometimes be nodding when immature, and is often glaucous, 5 to 20 cm (2.0 to 7.9 in) wide, with 3–4 branches that in turn rebranch 0–2 times. The terminal branches (cincinni) are circinate (unfurling like the frond of a fern), but in maturity tend to be in an ascending position, 4 to 15 cm (1.6 to 5.9 in) with 10–20 flowers (from 6 to up to 30 in extreme cases). The pedicels are erect or ascending in flower, and erect in fruit, the lowermost 5 to 15 mm (0.20 to 0.59 in) long. [2]

The calyx is 4.5 to 6 mm (0.18 to 0.24 in) wide, and 6 to 7 mm (0.24 to 0.28 in) high, sub-truncate to tapering below. The segments of the calyx are triangular, the tips acute to sub-acuminate, 4 to 6 mm (0.16 to 0.24 in) long and 2 to 3 mm (0.079 to 0.118 in) wide. The petals are colored a pale yellow to white, and often are tinged with pink, shaped oblong with an acute tip, 10 to 15 mm (0.39 to 0.59 in) long, and 2 to 3 mm (0.079 to 0.118 in) wide, connate for 3 to 6 mm (0.12 to 0.24 in). [2]

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

The type specimen of this species was collected by Townshend Stith Brandegee, a noted botanical explorer of Baja California, in June of 1893, at San Telmo. Joseph Nelson Rose, in his work on revising the North American Crassulaceae with Nathaniel Lord Britton, made the first description of this species in 1903 as part of their creation of the genus Dudleya . [4]

In 1933, botanist Donald A. Johansen described Dudleya viridicata, the Colonet liveforever, based on living plants collected in 1931 at the mesa on Punta Colonet, Baja California, by Howard E. Gates. Johansen notes the unusually vivid green color of the plants collected by Gates, thus giving the specific epithet viridicata. The flowers are pale yellow to white. [5] In his 1951 dissertation on the genus, botanist Reid Moran also found the plants in the locality to be diploid, as opposed to the tetraploid majority of D. ingens. However, Moran noted that the plants in the Colonet area seemed to differ little from the D. ingens found at the type locality in San Telmo. Moran does note, though, that the type specimen of D. viridicata appears most similar to another diploid, Dudleya brittonii , and that his placement of this taxa in D. ingens was not without some hesitancy. [2] Some sources still list this species, as an ambiguous form or hybrid of D. ingens and/or D. brittonii. [3]

In 1935, Johansen published another species, Dudleya eximia, based on plants collected by Gates at a hill north of Mission San Vicente, about 5 miles from the coast. Johansen notes that the characteristics of distinguishing this supposed "well marked species" is the enormous size and vivid greenness of the rosettes, the small size of the cauline leaves, and the peculiar coloration of the inflorescence and its flowers. The flowers are colored white, but marked with enough red that it appears as a rosy-red. [6] Moran, in his 1951 dissertation, notes that this "species" is in fact just a rather large form of D. ingens. Moran does also comment that at the type locality in late March of 1940, the young floral stems of these plants were only about two inches high, while elsewhere D. ingens was already in flower. [2]

Characteristics

The inland form of Dudleya ingens. Note the narrower, and less numerous leaves. Dudleya ingens 38195983.jpg
The inland form of Dudleya ingens. Note the narrower, and less numerous leaves.

The most recent definition of this species, by Reid Moran in his 1951 thesis, includes many plants of rather diverse appearance. The plants on the coast are rather large, with 30–70 rosette leaves that are up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long and 5.5 cm (2.2 in) wide, and flowers with petals that are often yellowish. The inland form, occupying the foothills and the western slope of the Peninsular Ranges in the area, is smaller, with 20–40 rosettes leaves which are up to 15 cm (5.9 in) long and 2 cm (0.79 in) wide. In areas like Arroyo San Telmo and Arroyo Seco, the gradual transition from coastal to inland form may be witnessed. [2]

The large coastal form is very similar to Dudleya brittonii . The two plants may be separated on the basis that D. ingens has a lower number of maximum rosette leaves, that the leaves tend to be narrower, and that they are green to slightly glaucous rather than green to chalky and farinose. The inflorescence on D. ingens is less dense, with fewer main branches and longer terminal branches, and the flowers are larger, with the petal color varying from yellowish to white or pink. Relative to the base number of chromosomes in the genus, D. brittonii is a diploid, with a chromosome count of n=17. D. ingens, on the other hand, is mostly a tetraploid, with a majority of plants having a chromosome count of n=34. [2]

Phylogeny

The majority of plants in this species are tetraploid relative to the base chromosome number of the genus. A few plants in this species are diploids, particularly around the Punta Colonet area. According to Reid Moran, in his 1951 dissertation on the genus, the variation from the coastal form to inland form may suggest segmental allopolyploidy, with one parent being a large coastal plant with yellowish flowers and the other a smaller interior form with white to pink flowers. The diploid plants are therefore presumed to be similar to that of the parental type. [2]

D. ingens is known to hybridize along its range with other Dudleya. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Dudleya ingens occurs mostly along the coast and foothills of northwestern Baja California, from the vicinity of Santo Tomás and San Vicente south to Puerto Faro San José. [3] It occurs from the coastal plain to as far inland as the western slope of the Sierra de San Pedro Martir, with the inland form taking on a markedly different appearance, but intermediate plants found between. Plants may vary from locality to locality, near Punta Colonet approaching the appearance of Dudleya brittonii . [2]

Cultivation

This species finds suitable use as a rock or container garden plant. It grows well in full sun with well-drained soil and very infrequent summer irrigation. It is cold hardy to 25 °F (−4 °C) and is drought tolerant. The leaves are evergreen, and in spring to early summer the red stems bearing pale yellow to white flowers appear. Leaves may be green or covered with red spots. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

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

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

<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 farinosa</i> Species of succulent

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.

<i>Dudleya pulverulenta</i> Species of succulent plant found in the U.S. and Mexico

Dudleya pulverulenta is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names chalk lettuce, chalk dudleya, and chalk liveforever. It is one of the largest Dudleya, with a silvery, waxy rosette that may greatly contrast with its habitat. It is also regarded as one of the most distinctive members of the Dudleya, with the most advanced inflorescence in the genus, consisting of pendant, hummingbird pollinated flowers, the longest corolla, and the highest nectar output, along with the largest range of all the Dudleya, over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), being found from southern Monterey County in California to the Sierra de San Borja in southern Baja California.

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

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.

<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 brittonii</i> Species of succulent plant found in Mexico

Dudleya brittonii, with the common names Britton's dudleya, Britton's liveforever and giant chalk dudleya, is a succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is native to the coast of northern Baja California, Mexico. Both forms of the plant have yellow leaves on a clustered rosette atop a large reddish-purple peduncle. The white form of the plant has a chalky epicuticular wax that reflects light and reacts with water. The green form of the plant is more common and found throughout a wider range. It is among the largest of the Dudleya.

<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 guadalupensis</i>

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.

<i>Dudleya rigida</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae

Dudleya rigida is a species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae known commonly as the La Laguna liveforever. Characterized by a tall inflorescence with pendant yellowish-red flowers, it is a very rare plant whose existence was doubtful until botanist Reid Moran accidentally re-discovered it. It is endemic to the Sierra de la Laguna in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

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

Dudleya pauciflora is a species of succulent plant in the stonecrop family known by the common name few-flower liveforever. It is characterized by its small crowded rosettes of narrow leaves and its colorful inflorescence with red-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.

<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 rubens</i> Succulent plant species from Baja California Sur

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.

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

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.

<i>Dudleya candida</i> Succulent plant from Mexican islands in the Pacific

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.

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

Dudleya albiflora, known by the common name white-flower liveforever, is a species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is native to the Baja California Peninsula. This species represents numerous populations with varying chromosome numbers scattered around the peninsula, but all share broad, common morphological traits such as white flowers and narrow leaves.

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

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.

Dudleya virens subsp. extima is a subspecies of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the Guadalupe green liveforever. It is a rosette-forming leaf succulent, with both green and white waxy foliage. It has white flowers with spreading petals that bloom from May to June. It is a somewhat small plant, continuing a southward trend of decreasing size relative to other Dudleya virens subspecies. This plant is endemic to Guadalupe Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which is 241 kilometers off of the Baja California coast. It is very rare, with this plant only surviving on sheer cliff faces and canyons, out of the reach of the former feral goat population rampant on the island. It closely resembles a miniature version of Dudleya virens subsp. virens, but it may be more nearly related to the local Dudleya guadalupensis.

References

  1. ↑ "Dudleya ingens". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Moran, Reid V. (1951). "A Revision of Dudleya (Crassulaceae)". Dissertation (Unpublished). University of California: 227–231.
  3. 1 2 3 4 P. Rebman, Jon; Gibson, Judy; Rich, Karen (15 November 2016). "ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO" (PDF). Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History. San Diego Natural History Museum. 45– via San Diego Plant Atlas & San Diego Natural History Museum.
  4. 1 2 Rose, Joseph Nelson; Britton, Nathaniel Lord (1903). "New or Noteworthy North American Crassulaceae". Bulletin of the New York Botanic Garden. 3: 18.
  5. ↑ Johansen, Donald A. (1933). "Dudleya viridicata". Cactus & Succulent Journal of America. 4 (7): 312.
  6. ↑ Johansen, Donald A. (1935). "Contributions Toward a Monograph of the Genus Dudleya — VI". Cactus & Succulent Journal of America. 6 (8): 122.
  7. ↑ "Dudleya ingens". California Natives Wiki. Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, Inc. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Dudleya ingens (Baja Live Forever)". World of Succulents. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
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