''Dudleya anomala'' is a rare species of

succulent plant In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the Todos Santos liveforever. With a dense, cushion-forming habit, this leaf succulent is characterized by elongated stems, slightly sticky leaves, and bell-shaped flowers with white, spreading petals. This species is native to

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, Mexico, and is found primarily on islands and one coastal locality.

Description

Morphology

''Dudleya anomala'' is a rosette-forming leaf succulent that grows in a caespitose habit, with the stems branching to form dense cushions of rosettes in diameter. The stems are elongated and procumbent, and may reach up to long, and are usually thick. Topping the stems are the rosettes, which contain 20 to 30 close-set leaves, that may become somewhat separated when the stem is rapidly elongating. The leaves are shaped strap-oblanceolate to strap-shaped, with acute tips. The lower surface of the leaf is convex, while the upper surface is only slightly convex. The leaf margins are obtuse or rounded, but not toward the base. The leaves measure long by wide, with the leaf bases broad. The leaves are slightly viscid. The

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

is by thick, and is covered in ascending

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

. The bracts are shaped narrowly deltoid-ovate to deltoid-lanceolate, with sharply acute tips. The lower bracts measure long by wide. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is compact, with an overall rounded shape, and measures about in diameter. The inflorescence usually has three major branches which may or may not subsequently rebranch once, and the terminal branches contain 3 to 5 flowers, held on pedicels long. On the flower, the

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

are deltoid to deltoid-ovate with acute tips, measuring long. The petals are somewhat spreading from the base, with the tips curving outward. Petals are narrowly ovate with acute tips, measuring long by wide, connate for or less. The petals are white, but somewhat flecked on the keel with red. The stamens measure about long, and are adnate with the petals for . The anthers are orange, and . The

carpels Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

are and connate for about , spreading in age, with the styles long.

Characteristics

''D. anomala'' possesses slightly viscid (sticky) and odorous foliage, a trait only shared by the aptly-named ''

Dudleya viscida ''Dudleya viscida'' is a rare succulent plant known by common name as the sticky liveforever, sticky dudleya or the San Juan stylophyllum. It is endemic to California, where it is found on rocky slopes. It is unique among the genus ''Dudleya'' in ...

''. In comparison, ''anomala'' has smaller leaves, thinner caudices, and smaller, simpler inflorescences.Dudleya anomala ''(Davidson) Moran''. Desert Plant Life. 14: 191. 1942.

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

Anstruther Davidson Anstruther Davidson (1860–1932) was a Scottish-American physician, professor of medicine, botanist, and entomologist. Biography Born in Scotland, Davidson attended the University of Glasgow, where he graduated CM MB in 1881 and received his ...

first described the species as ''Stylophyllum anomalum'' in 1928, based on a specimen collected by Robert Kessler from North Coronado Island and deposited in the herbarium of the Los Angeles County Museum by Davidson. Harald August Fröderström described ''Stylophyllum insulare'' based on a specimen collected by Marcus E. Jones from the Coronado Islands in 1926. This name later became a homonym, so it was changed to ''Stylophyllum coronatum''.

Philip A. Munz Philip Alexander Munz (1892–1974) was an American botanist, plant taxonomist and educator who worked at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden and was a professor of botany at Pomona College, serving as dean there for three years. In 1935 Munz publ ...

also observed this species on the Coronado Islands, referring to it as '' Echeveria virens''.

Reid Moran Reid Venable Moran (June 30, 1916 – January 21, 2010) was an American botanist and the curator of botany at the San Diego Natural History Museum from 1957 to 1982. Moran was the world authority on the Crassulaceae, a family of succulent plant ...

wrote a more complete description of the species in 1943, and recognized it as a ''Dudleya'', creating the current combination.

Phylogenetics

A 2013 phylogenetic analysis of ''D. anomala'' places it in a clade with '' Dudleya anthonyi.''

Distribution and habitat

''Dudleya anomala'' is only found in the state of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and has an insular distribution on the Islas Coronados,

Isla Todos Santos Isla Todos Santos is a pair of islands about off Ensenada, Baja California, at best known for surfing. Access is only by boat, which can be rented in Ensenada, or La Bufadora. The waves off the smallest island are among the biggest in North ...

, and one location on the mainland, the extreme point of the Punta Banda. The range of ''D. anomala'' overlaps with those of ''

Dudleya lanceolata ''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 throug ...

'', ''

Dudleya candida ''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 a ...

'', and '' Dudleya attenuata''.Mulroy, T. W., Rundel, P. W., & Bowler, P. A. (1979). The vascular flora of Punta Banda, Baja California Norte, Mexico. ''Madroño'', 69-90. Specimens of ''D. anomala'' observed by

occurred on steep, north-facing cliffs on the Coronado Islands. On the Isla Todos Santos, the plant is found densely covering rocks and cliffs on northern and eastern exposures. On the Punta Banda, this species is found on steep, north-facing beach cliffs overlooking the Todos Santos Bay. Populations of ''Dudleya anomala'' are consistently associated with '' Niebla ceruchoides''.

Gallery

File:Dudleya anomala growing on my roof 2.jpg, Cultivated plant with nascent inflorescences. File:Dudleya anomala 1.jpg, At the University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley, California File:Dudleya anomala 3.jpg, At the Huntington Library. File:Dudleya anomala flower 1.jpg, Detail of a flower and bud. File:Dudleya anomala flower 2.jpg, Multiple flowers and buds.

References

External links

''Dudleya anomala'' at CalPhotos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15482499

anomala ''Anomala'' is a genus of shining leaf chafers in the family of beetles known as Scarabaeidae. There are at least 1,200 described species in ''Anomala''. A common characteristic behavior of beetles in ''Anomala'' is that most grubs of these ...

Flora of Baja California Endemic flora of Mexico Taxa named by Reid Venable Moran