Dudleya brittonii

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Britton's Dudleya
Dudleya Brittonii.jpg
Dudleya brittonii at the Wave Hill public garden, Bronx, New York
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Dudleya
Species:
D. brittonii
Binomial name
Dudleya brittonii
D.A.Johans.
Dudleya brittonii distribution map.png
Distribution of Dudleya brittonii
Synonyms

Dudleya candida subsp. brittonii(D.A.Johans.) Moran

Contents

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.

Description

Dudleya brittonii has a short, stout caudex, often covered in dry leaves. Rosettes often grow solitarily out of the caudex. Basal leaves are numerous and erect. Younger leaves are linear-lanceolate, older leaves are oblong-lanceolate and much more wide and turgid at the base. Leaves are 7 to 11 cm long, and older leaves are 4.5 to 5.5 cm wide at the base. Leaves are flat above the middle but convex on both sides below, with a submedian keel on the upper surface, apiculate to acuminate, often with a red subulate tip. With age, leaves turn reddish-heliotrope. [1]

The flowering stem arises from the basal leaves, thin, erect, and reddish-purple. Bracts are horizontal, very thin, long-lanceolate, half encircle the stem, acuminate, light green or red, and prone to withering quickly after flowering. [1]

Cultivated specimen budding flowers. Note the yellow flowers, red peduncle, and large bracts that clearly distinguish this species from the smaller Chalk dudleya. Dudleya brittonii (27099736903).jpg
Cultivated specimen budding flowers. Note the yellow flowers, red peduncle, and large bracts that clearly distinguish this species from the smaller Chalk dudleya.

The inflorescence is cymose, about 10 cm across but narrow laterally, with vivid red branchlets holding erect, slender pedicels 7 to 9 cm long. [1]

The flower has a bright green calyx about 5 mm long, with acute, long-lanceolate segments. The corolla is erect, with a length of about 9 mm, cleft two-thirds to the base, composed of linear-lanceolate segments. The petals are hyaline to pale white, with the keel imbued in yellow. [1]

The leaves of the glaucous form of Dudleya brittonii are covered with a dusty, chalky, mealy white epicuticular wax. The wax in its mealy state on the leaves is attracted to water and coats drops on the leaves and prevents their evaporation. The wax has the highest measured ultraviolet reflectivity of any plant. [2]

Dudleya brittonii is similar in appearance to D. pulverulenta , which shares an overlapping distribution, and D. ingens, which only occurs further south. [1]

Taxonomy

Dudleya brittonii was discovered by a Mr. Howard E. Gates at the mouth of a canyon north of the 32nd parallel, supposedly "midway between Descanso and Ensenada." D. brittonii was described by Donald A. Johansen in 1933, in the fourth volume of the Cactus & Succulent Journal of America . [1]

It is named after Nathaniel Lord Britton, one of the botanists who first described the genus Dudleya. [1]

Green form

The "green form" of Dudleya brittonii Britton's Dudleya Green 3.jpg
The "green form" of Dudleya brittonii

The green form of D. brittonii is regarded by some authors as a separate species, described as Dudleya viridis P.H. Thomson [3] [4] [5]

There are several differences in the morphology of D. brittonii and D. viridis [5]

Furthermore, the flowering time between the green form and the glaucous form is very divergent, with the green form flowering up to six weeks or more later when cohabiting with the glaucous form. Researchers who have spent many years studying Dudleya brittonii, like Thomas W. Mulroy, agree with the conclusion that both forms deserve proper taxonomic recognition. [6]

Distribution and habitat

Dudleya brittonii occurs from extreme northwest Baja California from La Misión south to the vicinity of Eréndira and on the island of Todos Santos. [3] The glaucous, white form inhabits the bluff faces and steep slopes, whilst the green form inhabits rocky areas away from bluffs and the flat slopes of talus and soil below bluffs. Development along the Baja California coast is imperiling the species. [6]

Cultivation

Dudleya brittonii is cultivated as an ornamental plant for use in well-drained rock gardens and as a potted succulent. [7]

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [8] In temperate climates it is normally grown under glass in cactus compost. However it can be placed outdoors in a sheltered, sunny spot during the summer months. [8]

See also

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 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 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 verityi</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya verityi is a rare species of succulent plant known by the common name Verity's liveforever. It is endemic to Ventura County, California, where it is known from only three occurrences in the vicinity of Conejo Mountain between Camarillo and Thousand Oaks. It probably occurs in a few additional locations nearby which have not yet been officially vouchered.

<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 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 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.

<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 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 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 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. It is characterized by showy bright-yellow flowers on an upright inflorescence colored pink, red or orange. The leaves are green or covered in a white, powdery wax. This species is found growing in rocky slopes, canyons, and crevices, and often on Sonoran Desert sky islands.

<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 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.

Dudleya cymosasubsp. costatifolia, known commonly as the Pierpoint Springs dudleya or the Pierpoint Springs liveforever, is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae, narrowly endemic to a locality in Tulare County, California, United States. It is a clumping plant with small rosettes and bright yellow flowers, resembling alpine cushion plants.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Johansen, Donald A. Dudleya brittonii sp. nov. Cactus & Succulent Journal of America 4: 311, 1933
  2. Spectral Properties of Heavily Glaucous and Non-Glaucous Leaves of a Succulent Rosette-Plant, Thomas W. Mulroy, Oecologia, 1979,
  3. 1 2 Rebman, J. P., Gibson, J., & Rich, K. (2016). Annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Baja California, Mexico. San Diego Society of Natural History.
  4. Dudleya viridis P.H.Thomson in GBIF Secretariat (2021). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2021-08-19.
  5. 1 2 Thompson, P. (1993). "Dudleya viridis". Dudleya and Hasseanthus Handbook. Bonsall Publications: 202–204.
  6. 1 2 Mulroy, Thomas W. (16 January 2015). "Investigating reproductive character displacement in Dudleya brittonii (Crassulaceae) in northwestern Baja California, Mexico, over the last 40 years: An intact landscape is essential to our ability to understand important biological problems". YouTube. Leidos, Inc. and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021.
  7. San Marcos Growers
  8. 1 2 "Dudleya brittonii". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 3 June 2020.