''Dudleya cymosa'' is a species complex of

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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 ...

s in the family

Crassulaceae The Crassulaceae (from Latin ''crassus'', thick), also known as the stonecrop family or the orpine family, are a diverse family of dicotyledon flowering plants characterized by succulent leaves and a unique form of photosynthesis, known as Crass ...

known by the common name: canyon liveforever. It is a loosely defined

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

species with a diverse number of subspecies, varying highly in morphology, distribution, and habitat.

Description

It is a distinctive plant sending up erect red-orange stems from a gray-green basal rosette. The small yellowish-red thimble-shaped flowers top the stems in a cyme inflorescence. Some subspecies are considered threatened locally.

Subspecies

Recognized ''Dudleya cymosa''

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 ...

: * ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''agourensis'' K.M. Nakai - (Agoura Hills dudleya) * ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''crebrifolia'' K.M. Nakai & Verity - (San Gabriel River dudleya) * ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''costatifolia'' Bartel & Shevock - (Pierpoint springs dudleya) * ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''cymosa'' (Lem.) Britton & Rose - (canyon liveforever) * ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''marcescens''

Moran Moran may refer to: Places Antarctica * Moran Bluff, Marie Byrd Land * Moran Buttress, Marie Byrd Land * Moran Glacier, Alexander Island Asia * Moran Town, Assam, India * Moran, Israel, a kibbutz * Moran Hill, North Korea * Moran Station, a s ...

- (

Marcescent Marcescence is the withering and persistence of plant organs that normally are shed, and is a term most commonly applied to plant leaves. The underlying physiological mechanism is that trees transfer water and sap from the roots to the leaves t ...

dudleya) * ''Dudleya cymosa.'' subsp. ''ovatifolia'' - (Santa Monica Mountains dudleya) * ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''paniculata'' (Jeps.) K.M. Nakai - (Diablo range dudleya) * ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''pumila'' (Rose) K.M. Nakai - (Transverse ranges liveforever) The subspecies ''marcescens''USFWS
ssp. ''marcescens''.
Species Profile. and ''ovatifolia''USFWS
ssp. ''ovatifolia''.
Species Profile. are federally listed as threatened species of the United States.

Butterfly habitat

''Dudleya cymosa'' is the larval host plant for the Sonoran blue butterfly, '' Philotes sonorensis'' (

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

)

Notes

References

* *C.Michael Hogan, ed. 2010
''Dudleya cymosa''. Encyclopedia of Life.

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Dudleya cymosa''USDA Plants Profile — ''Dudleya cymosa''The Nature Conservancy
cymosa Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Natural history of the Santa Monica Mountains Natural history of the Transverse Ranges Garden plants of North America Butterfly food plants Drought-tolerant plants Taxa named by Charles Antoine Lemaire Taxa named by Joseph Nelson Rose Taxa named by Nathaniel Lord Britton {{Crassulaceae-stub