La Laguna liveforever | |
---|---|
![]() | |
The watercolor illustration by Frederick Andrews Walpole | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Crassulaceae |
Genus: | Dudleya |
Species: | D. rigida |
Binomial name | |
Dudleya rigida | |
![]() | |
Distribution of Dudleya rigida within Baja California Sur | |
Synonyms | |
|
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. [1]
Dudleya rigida has a caudex 1 to 3.5 cm thick, obscured by dried leaves, and branching into clusters with up to 20 rosettes. Rosettes are 6 to 15 cm wide, with 10-25 leaves. Leaves are green or somewhat glaucous, and oblong to triangular-ovate, short-acuminate. The leaves are 5 to 8 cm long, 2.5 to 4 cm wide, and 6 to 10 mm thick. The inflorescence has 8-21 flowers, with a yellow corolla marked in red and a pink to red peduncle. The flowers are pendent, a trait only shared by Dudleya anthonyi and Dudleya pulverulenta .
Compared with Dudleya nubigena , which has an overlapping range, Dudleya rigida has a thicker caudex, oblong leaves, a taller inflorescence, and is green, not farinose. The pollen grains are much larger than D. nubigena, because D.rigida possesses a much higher chromosome count. The plant is 16-ploid with a count of 136 chromosomes. [2]
Joseph Nelson Rose named Dudleya rigida from a living specimen brought from Baja California by a J. E. McClelland. In his treatment, Rose gave no exact locality or date. The plant flowered in Washington by June 1897, but he never elaborated as to why he named it rigida. According to Edward W. Nelson, a J. Ellis McLellan collected birds and mammals in Baja California for the U.S. Biological Survey from March 31 to September 1895, visiting numerous locations of the Baja cape. Reid Moran inferred that based on the name of the collector, rigida must have originated somewhere in the Cape Region or the surrounding islands and mountains. [2]
Pressed specimens were boiled and arranged in a way that obfuscated the true layout of the inflorescence. Fortunately, Frederick Andrews Walpole created a watercolor illustration of a living plant, albeit from a greenhouse collection. Curious about the existence of the plant, which had little documentation since Rose's treatment of the Dudleya genus, Reid Moran, on a journey to the Sierra de la Laguna, rediscovered the plant. Initially confused about the accidental discovery of a Dudleya on the 1900 meter high Cerro la Aguja, Moran recalled the existence of the Walpole plate and made the connection. [2]
Moran managed to obtain more information about McLellan's journey to the cape, as an ornithologist with the USFWS sent him the handwritten notes, which mentioned that he had also explored the area near the Cerro la Aguja. Although McLellan never wrote about the collection of his specimen, Moran was able to confirm that the plants he discovered were the same as Rose's description. Moran did previously identify herbarium specimens of Dudleya rigida as being synonymous with Dudleya nubigena , but after his encounter with the plants in the wild, he changed his mind. [2]
Dudleya rigida is native to the Sierra de la Laguna, growing on rocky outcroppings alongside Agave promontorii , Nolina beldingii, and Myrtillocactus cochal. [2] [3]
Montane species of Dudleya:
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 larger 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 1000 kilometers, being found from Monterey County in California to the Sierra de San Borja in southern Baja 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 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.
Dudleya ingens, commonly known as the Baja liveforever and the rock liveforever, is a species of succulent plant native to Baja California.
Dudleya guadalupensis is a succulent plant endemic to Guadalupe Island.
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.
Dudleya pauciflora is a species of succulent plant known by the common name few-flower liveforever. It is native to the Baja California Peninsula.
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 pachyphytum is an insular succulent plant known by the common name Cedros Island liveforever. It is a member of the genus Dudleya endemic to the foggy northern end of Cedros Island, occupying an ecological niche shared with the Cedros Island Pine. The plant is endangered due to poaching from organized criminals supplying buyers in Asia. The poachers include South Korean nationals and criminal gangs operating under the Mexican cartels. Demand from succulent collectors in East Asia has led to overexploitation of the plant in the wild, and armed conflict between competing poachers has sparked killings of several people.
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 known by the common name as the San Francisco liveforever, native to the mountains of Baja California Sur.
Dudleya cultrata, commonly known as the knife-leaved liveforever or the maritime succulent liveforever, is a species of perennial succulent plant native to Baja California.
Dudleya candida is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by common name as the Coronados liveforever. 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 rigidiflora is a very rare species of succulent perennial plant known by the common name Playa Maria liveforever, endemic to the coast of southwestern Baja California.
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 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.
Dudleya saxosasubsp. aloides is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names desert dudleya or desert savior. It is a rosette-forming species widely distributed throughout the Peninsular Ranges and desert mountains of California in the United States. It is characterized by bright-yellow or greenish-yellow flowers, and can be found in shaded crevices and slopes. Plants in western half of the range may grade into Dudleya lanceolata.
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.
Nolina beldingii is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae known commonly as the Cape nolina or Belding's beargrass. It is an arborescent monocot growing up to 7 metres (23 ft) high, with fissured bark on a trunk topped with leaf rosettes. The narrow leaves are up to 1.15 m (3.8 ft) long, and are used as thatching by local peoples. This species is endemic to Baja California Sur in Mexico, where it grows only in the highest reaches of the Sierra de la Laguna. It is found primarily in oak forests at elevations over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) along rocky granite outcrops.
International Plant Names Index