''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''paniculata'', known by the common name Diablo Range dudleya, is a species of

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

succulent 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 ...

plant 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 ...

native to the Inner South Coast Range of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is characterized by pale yellowish flowers, oblong to oblanceolate leaves and a growth habit not limited to a single substrate. It is closely related to ''Dudleya abramsii'' subsp. ''setchellii''.

Description

This plant is not usually

caespitose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

, rosettes are solitary to few. The rosettes are 4 to 11 cm wide. The stems are 1 to 2 cm wide. The leaves are 3 to 10 cm, 5 to 20 mm wide, shaped

oblong An oblong is a non-square rectangle. Oblong may also refer to: Places * Oblong, Illinois, a village in the United States * Oblong Township, Crawford County, Illinois, United States * A strip of land on the New York-Connecticut border in the Unit ...

, oblanceolate to lance-oblong, green to more or less white, and the foliage may or may not be

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

, leaf tip acute. The peduncle is 5 to 25 cm long, and 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 ...

contains 2 to 3 branches that rebranch once or twice. The terminal branches are 1 to 5 cm long, with 4 to 10 flowers, on

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 ...

3 to 12 mm long. 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 are 1.5 to 2.5 mm wide, colored a pale yellow to white-yellow, or pale-yellow pink in the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

. Flowering is from May to June.

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history

This plant was first described as '' Cotyledon caespitosa'' var. ''paniculata'' by Jepson in 1901. In

Nathaniel Lord Britton Nathaniel Lord Britton (January 15, 1859 – June 25, 1934) was an American botanist and taxonomist who co-founded the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York (state), New York. Early life Britton was born in New Dorp, Staten Island, New ...

and

Joseph Nelson Rose Joseph Nelson Rose (January 11, 1862 – May 4, 1928) was an American botanist. He was born in Union County, Indiana. His father died serving during the Civil War when Joseph Rose was a young boy. He later graduated from high school in Liberty, ...

's reorganization of North American

in 1903, they described this plant as ''Dudleya paniculata'' and ''Dudleya humilis''. In the 1950s, Reid Moran regarded ''Cotyledon caespitosa'' var. ''paniculata'' as a synonym of ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''setchellii'', although he noted that they could be separated on the basis of leaf shape. Botanist Kei M. Nakai later again separated ''paniculata'' as ''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''paniculata'', and reduced ''Dudleya humilis'' as a synonym for subsp. ''paniculata'' plants that have become

edaphic Edaphology (from Greek , ''edaphos'', "ground",, ''-logia'') is concerned with the influence of soils on living beings, particularly plants. It is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology includes the study ...

dwarfs.

Characteristics

''Dudleya cymosa'' subsp. ''paniculata'' can be differentiated from its close relative, ''Dudleya abramsii'' subsp. ''setchellii'', in a number of ways. ''D. c.'' ssp. ''paniculata'' plants have oblong to oblanceolate rosette leaves rather than oblong-triangular leaves, an inflorescence of 2 to 3 branches that rebranch once or twice rather than an inflorescence of 2 to 3 branches that do not rebranch, and pedicels that are 6 to 12 mm long against pedicels that are 4 to 7 mm long. ''D. a.'' ssp. ''setchellii'' is also only restricted to serpentine rock outcrops, while this species occurs on a variety of substrates.

Distribution and habitat

This species occurs throughout the Inner South Coast Ranges, the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, and mountainous portions of the San Joaquin Valley. It is particularly conspicuous on Mount Diablo and Mount Hamilton. It is found on rocky outcrops and in canyons.

Gallery

File:Dudleya cymosa paniculata 8141374.jpg, Flowering in habitat, Mount Diablo File:Diablo Range Dudleya imported from iNaturalist photo 128429039 on 20 December 2021.jpg, Flowering in habitat,

Henry W. Coe State Park Henry W. Coe State Park (often known simply as Henry Coe or Coe Park) is a state park of California, United States, preserving a vast tract of the Diablo Range. The park is located closest to the city of Morgan Hill, and is located in both Sa ...

File:Canyon Dudleya (D. cymosa aff. paniculata).jpg, Flowering in habitat, Mount Diablo

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q24688568 cymosa subsp. paniculata Flora of California Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Plants described in 1988