Dudleya saxosa subsp. aloides

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Desert dudleya
Joshua Tree National Park flowers - Dudleya saxosa - 1.JPG
Status TNC T3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Dudleya
Species:
Subspecies:
D. s. subsp. aloides
Trinomial name
Dudleya saxosa subsp. aloides
(Rose) Moran
Synonyms
  • Dudleya aloidesRose
  • Dudleya delicataRose
  • Dudleya grandifloraRose
  • Dudleya lanceolata var. aloides(Rose) Munz
  • Dudleya lanceolata var. compostaJeps.

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 .

Contents

Description

A rosette-forming succulent that may be evergreen or summer deciduous. It typically has bright yellow or green flowers. [2]

This plant's basal rosette is formed on top of a caudex (stem), which is 1 to 3 cm in diameter. There are 1 to 4 rosettes, and they may be 6 to 23 cm wide. The leaves are typically 4 to 15 cm long, and 6 to 25 mm wide, 2 to 5 mm thick, and their base is 10 to 25 mm wide. [3] [4]

Growing in Joshua Tree National Park Panamint liveforever (Dudleya saxosa); Hidden Valley Campground.jpg
Growing in Joshua Tree National Park

The inflorescence has a peduncle 10 to 51 cm tall, and 1 to 9 mm wide. The lower internodes are spaced over 5 mm. The peduncle then branches 3 times, with the floral shoots colored red or green. The terminal branches (cincinni) are wavy, 1 to 12 cm long, and have 2 to 20 flowers. The sepals are around 4 to 6 mm long. The petals are 8 to 15 mm long, and are fused 1.5 to 3 mm. The petals are colored bright yellow or green, but rarely they are tinged with red. Flowering is from April to June [3] [4]

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

This species was described as Dudleya aloides in 1903, based on a specimen collected from San Diego County by Townshend Brandegee and examined by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose during their revision of North American Crassulaceae species. The two also described Dudleya grandiflora, from Whitewater near Banning, California, also collected by Brandegee. A third taxon, the comparatively diminutive Dudleya delicata, was also described by Britton and Rose, collected by LeRoy Abrams near Julian. [5]

W.L. Jepson placed the species as Echeveria lanceolata var. composta. [6] Reid Moran placed it as Dudleya lanceolata ssp. aloides in 1951. Moran eventually combined Dudleya aloides as a subspecies of Dudleya saxosa, forming the current combination in 1957. [7] Dudleya grandiflora was recognized as synonymous with subspecies aloides, although the plants called grandiflora are slightly larger than typical subsp. aloides. [4]

Dudleya alainae

In 1984, botanist Craig H. Reiser recognized a number of Dudleya occurring on the eastern side of the Cuyamaca Mountains as Dudleya alainae, commonly known as the Banner dudleya. He recognized them as distinct based on diagnostic criteria that included sulphur-yellow flowers, (as opposed to bright yellow or greenish-yellow) a smaller inflorescence, and restricted montane habitat compared to subsp. aloides. [8]

In 1986, another botanist, Kei M. Nakai, recognized Dudleya alainae as being synonymous with Rose's Dudleya delicata species, and therefore a synonym of Dudleya saxosa subspecies aloides. The group of plants variously referred to as Dudleya alainae or delicata approach the lowland Dudleya lanceolata. The chromosome number is n = 17. [4] The treatment by botanist Stephen W. McCabe in the Jepson Manual regards Dudleya alainae as "in need of study." [3]

Phylogeny

Dudleya saxosa subsp. aloides has a chromosome number of n = 17. Despite its placement in the species Dudleya saxosa , the other members, subsp. collomiae (n = 68) and subsp. saxosa ( n = 68, n = 85), [9] are disjunct (geographically isolated) in distribution and polyploid. However, it also does not fit in with Dudleya lanceolata ( n = 34 ), as that species is tetraploid. [4]

Distribution and habitat

This species is found primarily in the Peninsular Ranges and on desert mountains in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts in California, USA. It does not likely occur in Mexico. Plants in the northernmost section of the distribution tend to be smaller, while plants near the type locality of Dudleya grandiflora, near Banning, are larger. Plants in western portion of the distribution in the Peninsular Ranges approach Dudleya lanceolata, and hybrids are expected. This species is found growing in rocky, shaded slopes and crevices. [4] [3]

Related Research Articles

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<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 forms, some large and evergreen, others cryptic and deciduous. The flowers of Dudleya have parts numbered in 5, and when fruiting are filled with tiny, ovoid or crescent-shaped seeds.

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

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<i>Dudleya caespitosa</i> Species of coastal succulent plant from North America

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

Dudleya abramsiisubsp.calcicola is a succulent plant known by the common name limestone liveforever, or limestone dudleya. It is endemic to California, where it is a rare resident of limestone outcroppings and rocky slopes in the southern Sierra Nevada and nearby mountains and foothills. It was formerly regarded as Dudleya calcicola.

<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 palmeri</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya palmeri is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name Palmer's liveforever. This Dudleya is endemic to California where it grows along the coast. It is characterized by orange to red over yellow or pink flowers. It is a polyploid species that closely resembles Dudleya lanceolata but has a coastal habit, and hybridizes with Dudleya caespitosa and Dudleya cymosa.

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

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

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

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<i>Dudleya arizonica</i> Species of perennial

Dudleya arizonica, commonly known as the Arizona chalk dudleya and the Arizona liveforever, is a species of perennial succulent plant native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It is one of two species of Dudleya that occur in Arizona, the other being Dudleya saxosa subsp. collomiae. It is the only Dudleya that occurs in Utah.

<i>Dudleya saxosa <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> collomiae</i>

Dudleya saxosa subsp. collomiae, known by the common name Gila County liveforever, is a subspecies of perennial succulent plant within the genus Dudleya native to central Arizona.

<i>Dudleya nubigena</i> Species of succulent plant from Mexico

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.

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

Dudleya cymosa subsp. paniculata, known by the common name Diablo Range dudleya, is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae native to the Inner South Coast Range of California. It is characterized by pale yellowish flowers, oblong to oblanceolate leaves and a growth habit not limited to a single substrate. It is closely related to Dudleya abramsii subsp. setchellii.

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

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<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.

<i>Dudleya saxosa <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> saxosa</i> Plant species

Dudleya saxosasubsp. saxosa is a species of succulent perennial plant endemic only to the western Panamint Range of California. It is known commonly as the Panamint liveforever or Panamint dudleya. It is found on north-facing, granitic or limestone slopes and grows up to 20 cm wide. It is characterized by bright yellow, red tinged flowers, which bloom from May to June.

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

Dudleya cymosa subsp. marcescens is a species of summer-deciduous succulent plant known commonly as the marcescent dudleya or marcescent liveforever. Throughout the months of spring, it is characterized by a bloom of small, bright-yellow flowers with 5 petals, tinged with orange or red. It is a leaf succulent with a basal rosette, with the foliage withering in summer, going completely leafless, a neotenous trait in the genus. This species is endemic to the exposed volcanic rock of the Santa Monica Mountains in California, being found on shady slopes and outcroppings. It differs from its local congeners with its deciduous habit, slender caudex, and narrower leaf shape, although it is superseded in some of these characteristics by Dudleya parva, growing 13 km to the north, which has even narrower leaves and is quicker to lose them. Because of its restricted distribution and small size, it is vulnerable to habitat degradation and disturbance from acts of graffiti and rock climbers. It is listed as threatened by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

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 species is endemic to Guadalupe Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which is 241 kilometers off of the Baja California coast. It is a very rare species, 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. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
  2. "Dudleya saxosa ssp. aloides". San Marcos Growers. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 McCabe, Stephen W. (2012). "Dudleya saxosa subsp. aloides". Jepson eFlora. Jepson Flora Project. Archived from the original on 2015-12-20. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Moran, Reid V. "Dudleya saxosa subsp. aloides". Flora of North America. 8: 187 via efloras.org.
  5. Rose, Joseph Nelson (1903). "New or noteworthy North American Crassulaceae". Bulletin of the New York Botanical Garden. 3 (9): 15, 16, 24.
  6. Jepson, Willis Linn (1936). Flora of California 2. p. 115.
  7. Moran, Reid V. (1957). "Innovations In Dudleya". Madroño. 14 (3): 108.
  8. Reiser, Craig (1984). "Dudleya Alainae, A New Species from San Diego County". Cactus & Succulent Journal of America. Cactus & Succulent Society of America. 1984 Jul-Aug: 147–148.
  9. Moran, Reid; Uhl, Charles H. "The Cytotaxonomy of Dudleya and Hasseanthus". American Journal of Botany. 40.