''Dudleya blochmaniae'' is a summer- deciduous

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 ...

known by the common names Blochman's liveforever or Blochman's dudleya. This species of '' Dudleya'' survives part of the year with no aboveground presence, surviving as underground corm-like roots in deciduous months. It is characterized by white,

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

-shaped and spreading flowers that emerge after sufficient rainfall. It is found along the Pacific coast of the California Floristic Province, from the vicinity of San Luis Obispo in California to Punta Colonet in Baja California.

Description

Vegetative morphology

This plant forms a basal rosette from an underground corm. The small rosette is around only 0.5 to 7 cm, and the

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are summer deciduous. The leaves are 1 to 6 cm long, more or less shaped, oblanceolate to club-shaped, and when removed from the plant, the point of detachment will turn red with the wound. The leaves are 1 to 4 mm wide, and their tip is acute to rounded. The leaf petiole is more or less narrow.

Reproductive morphology

The inflorescence branches 2 to 3 times, and then may or may not rebranch once more. The terminal branches on the inflorescence are 1 to 6 cm long, and have 3 to 10 flowers. The lower

bract 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 ...

s on the inflorescence are often more than twice as long as they are wide. The

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

are less than 1 mm long. The flower is white and star shaped. The sepals are 1.5 to 4 mm long, shaped deltate to ovate. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s spread from the base, and are 5 to 10 mm large, shaped elliptic, with an acute tip, and colored white. The keel of the petals is often lined with a red-lineolate color.

Subdivisions

Named

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

include:

Conservation

This species is of conservation concern, as suitable habitat sites are rapidly declining and face serious threats. Threats include development, urbanization, vehicles, recreation, grazing by feral herbivores, and exotic plants. In 1998 there were only twenty-four confirmed extant sites in California, out of a total of thirty-six sites. In Baja California, this species is represented from fewer than five occurrences.

Cultivation

This species is a corm-like succulent that flowers in late spring to early summer. It often blooms less than a year after being sowed. Plants may disappear if they are placed in locations with high rainfall.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Dudleya blochmaniae'' (Blochman's dudleya, Blochman's liveforever) Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Dudleya blochmaniae''USDA Plants Profile for ''Dudleya blochmaniae'' (Blochman's liveforever) UC CalPhotos gallery of ''Dudleya blochmaniae'' (Blochman's Dudleya)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5312044, from2=Q24688561, from3=Q24688562 blochmaniae Flora of California Flora of Baja California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Channel Islands of California Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Taxa named by Alice Eastwood Taxa named by Reid Venable Moran