Hesperoyucca peninsularis

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Hesperoyucca peninsularis
Yucca whipplei subsp. eremica fh 0414.4 BC B.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Hesperoyucca
Species:
H. peninsularis
Binomial name
Hesperoyucca peninsularis
(McKelvey) Clary
Synonyms [2]
  • Yucca peninsularisMcKelvey
  • Yucca whipplei subsp. eremicaEpling & A.L.Haines

Hesperoyucca peninsularis, the peninsular candle or lechuguilla, is a plant species endemic to the Baja California peninsula. It is a perennial forming a rosette. It is semelparous (flowering once then dying). [2] [3]

Contents

Description

Plants are monocarpic or polycarpic, and sometimes rhizomatous. Some form secondary rosettes at their base while others branch their caudex to produce new rosettes after flowering. [2]

Taxonomy

Phylogeny and classification

Although morphological characteristics and phylogenetic ITS analysis show that H. peninsularis is somewhat distinct from H. whipplei , [2] it is still widely recognized as either a form or a subspecies of H.whipplei. More conclusive research shows that H. peninsularis and H. whipplei form a polytomy, and are sister to H. newberryi , which is consistent with the fact that the populations of H. newberryi are disjunct from the genus while H. peninsularis and H. whipplei overlap. [4]

Distribution and habitat

It occurs in the coastal succulent scrub of northwestern Baja California south into the central desert and the Sierra de San Francisco in Baja California Sur. [5]

This species grows in association with Elephant cactus, Larrea , Boojum trees, barrel cacti, Dudleya , Agave , ragweed and chollas. It grows on granite or basalt soils. [1] The plant tends to grow in clusters but occasionally can be found growing solitarily. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Yucca</i> Genus of flowering plants belonging to the agave and Joshua tree subfamily

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the Americas and the Caribbean in a wide range of habitats, from humid rainforest and wet subtropical ecosystems to the hot and dry (arid) deserts and savanna.

<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>Hesperoyucca whipplei</i> Species of flowering plant of the Hesperoyucca genus endemic to California and Baja California

Hesperoyucca whipplei, the chaparral yucca, our Lord's candle, Spanish bayonet, Quixote yucca or foothill yucca, is a species of flowering plant closely related to, and formerly usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is native to southwest communities of North America.

<i>Hesperoyucca</i> Genus of flowering plants of the Agavoideae subfamily

Hesperoyucca is a small genus of two recognized species of flowering plants closely related to, and recently split from, Yucca, which is in the century plant subfamily within the asparagus family.

<i>Doryanthes</i> Genus of flowering plants

Doryanthes is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Doryanthaceae. The genus consists of two species, D. excelsa and D. palmeri, both endemic natives of the coast of Eastern Australia. Doryanthaceae is part of the order Asparagales.

<i>Agave mitis</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave mitis is a plant species native to the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí, referred to as Agave celsii in many publications.

<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>Wislizenia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Wislizenia is a genus of flowering plants containing three recognized species native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Common names include spectacle fruit and jackass clover. Like genus Cleome and several relatives, Wislizenia has traditionally been included in the caper family, Capparaceae, but has more recently been moved to the new family Cleomaceae.

<i>Camissoniopsis micrantha</i> Species of flowering plant

Camissoniopsis micrantha is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names miniature suncup or small evening primrose. This is a small, hairy annual herb producing a basal rosette of leaves. It is characterized by small yellow flowers with petals less than 5 millimeters long. The flowers dry to a reddish color as they close. This species is found in Arizona and California in the United States, along with Baja California in Mexico. It grows in sandy areas in a number of habitats, from beaches to inland slopes. It is the smallest member of the genus Camissoniopsis.

<i>Camissoniopsis bistorta</i> Species of flowering plant

Camissoniopsis bistorta is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names southern suncup and California suncup. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of plant community along the coast and in the coastal hills and mountain ranges. This is a hairy annual or short-lived perennial herb spreading from a basal rosette, with stems reaching up to 80 centimeters long. The leaves are narrow and sometimes toothed, and 1 to 12 centimeters in length. Toward the end of the spreading stems are nodding inflorescences of flowers, each flower with four bright yellow petals dotted with red at their bases.

<i>Agave</i> Genus of flowering plants closely related to yucca

Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes.

<i>Myriopteris newberryi</i> Species of fern

Myriopteris newberryi, formerly Cheilanthes newberryi, is a species of lip fern known by the common name Newberry's lip fern. It is native to southern California and Baja California.

<i>Hooveria parviflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Hooveria parviflora is a species of perennial herb known by the common name smallflower soap plant. It is a monocot, native to coastal southern California and Baja California, where it is a member of the coastal sage scrub flora. It resembles a smaller version of Chlorogalum pomeridianum, with wavy leaves and white flowers that open during the day.

<i>Saltugilia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Saltugilia is a genus of flowering plants in the phlox family, Polemoniaceae. They are known commonly as woodland gilias. There are four species. Two are endemic to California in the United States, and the distributions of the other two extend into Baja California in Mexico.

<i>Hesperoyucca newberryi</i> Species of flowering plant

Hesperoyucca newberryi, commonly known as the Grand Canyon Quixote plant or Newberry's yucca, is a plant species endemic to Arizona. It is found only in Mohave and Coconino Counties, on the walls of canyons near the Colorado River.

<i>Dicranostegia</i>

Dicranostegia is a monotypic genus of hemiparasitic flowering plants belonging to the family Orobanchaceae, containing the species Dicranostegia orcuttiana, commonly known as Orcutt's bird's beak or Baja bird's beak. It is near-endemic to Baja California, found from Miller's Landing north to Tijuana, but has a few occurrences in southern San Diego County, California. It is differentiated among other similar species in California by its leaves with 8 to 11 lateral lobes that are paired. It was formerly placed in the genus Cordylanthus until phylogenetic analysis led to it being split off. This species is threatened by the destruction of its habitat from urbanization.

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

Dudleya arizonica is a species of perennial succulent plant commonly known as the Arizona chalk dudleya and the Arizona liveforever. A member of the genus Dudleya, this species is characterized by long, red flowers that adorn a waxy rosette of succulent leaves. It resembles a reduced desert form of the more coastal chalk dudleya, Dudleya pulverulenta, but differs in its smaller stature, lower number of leaves, and orientation of the flowers. Native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, it is widespread in range, but is primarily found in scattered, widely separated localities. It can be found as far west as coastal Ensenada to the desolate desert ranges of Nevada. It is one of two species of Dudleya that occur in Arizona, the other being Dudleya saxosa subsp. collomiae, and is the only species on mainland Mexico and in Utah.

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

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.

<i>Hooveria</i> (plant) Genus of plants

Hooveria is a genus of perennial bulbous plants in the Agavaceae family native to California and northwest Baja California. They are among a number of taxa referred to as amole. They are characterized by diurnal flowering and were formerly placed in the genus Chlorogalum, which consists of vespertine flowering species. They are named in honor of Robert F. Hoover, a field botanist from California who was responsible for founding the botanical garden and herbarium at California State Polytechnic College.

<i>Nolina beldingii</i> Species of plant native to Mexico

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Hodgson, W. 2020. Hesperoyucca peninsularis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T163128320A163128352. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T163128320A163128352.en. Downloaded on 15 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Clary, Karen Husum. 2001. The genus Hesperoyucca (Agavaceae) in the western United States and Mexico: New nomenclatural combinations. Sida 19(4): 839-847.
  3. McKelvey, Susan Delano. 1947. Yuccas of the Southwestern United States 2: 49–52, map 1.
  4. Archibald, J. K., Kephart, S. R., Theiss, K. E., Petrosky, A. L., & Culley, T. M. (2015). Multilocus phylogenetic inference in subfamily Chlorogaloideae and related genera of Agavaceae–Informing questions in taxonomy at multiple ranks. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 84, 266-283.
  5. Rebman, J. P.; Gibson, J.; Rich, K. (2016). "Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Baja California, Mexico" (PDF). San Diego Society of Natural History. 45: 272.