''Dudleya formosa'', known by the common name La Misión liveforever, 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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Guadalupe Valley Guadalupe Creek or Guadalupe Valley Creek is a short eastward-flowing stream whose watershed originates just east of the highest peak of San Bruno Mountain in San Mateo County, California, United States. It courses through San Bruno Mountain Stat ...

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 ...

. It is characterized by bright green leaves, red floral stems, and pink flowers.

Description

Morphology

''Dudleya formosa'' has a trailing

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

, 0.5 to 2.5 cm thick, becoming over 5

decimeters The decimetre (symbol dm) or decimeter (American English) is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one tenth of a metre, ten centimetres, 100 millimetres or 3.937 inches. The common non-SI metric unit of volume, ...

(dm) long, branching to form a loose,

prostrate Prostrate may refer to:- *Prostration, a position of submission in religion etc. *Prone position, a face-down orientation of the body *Prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ...

mound that can reach up to several hundred rosettes. Rosettes are flattish, 4 to 13 cm in diameter with around 10 to 20 leaves.

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

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 ...

to oblong- obovate, acute to obtuse with a sharp tip 0.5 mm long. Foliage is a bright green, and like other ''

Dudleya ''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers (Spanish: ''siemprevivas'') is a genus of succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in mul ...

'' the leaves are tinged with a red hue at the tips and margins. Leaves are not glaucous. Measurements of the leaves put them at 2 to 8 cm long, 1 to 3 cm wide, and 3 to 6 mm thick. Delving further into ''D. formosa'''s leaf morphology, leaves are convex below ( ventrally), and flat above ( dorsally).

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

are subacute. The base is 10 to 20 mm wide, and 1 to 4 mm high, but rarely, on rapidly growing stems, it is decurrent and up to 10 mm high. The peduncle is red, 4 to 15 cm high, and 3 to 6 mm thick, with foliage covering 2 to 5 cm. of the base. There are 10 to 17

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 ...

, which are close-set, horizontal, ovate to triangular

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

cordate Cordate is an adjective meaning 'heart-shaped' and is most typically used for: * Cordate (leaf shape), in plants * Cordate axe, a prehistoric stone tool See also * Chordate A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordat ...

, and acute, with the lowermost being 8 to 21 mm long, and 4 to 12 mm 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 ...

has a more pink hue, and is rather dense, being shaped somewhat flat-topped to hemispherical. It is 2 to 6 cm in diameter, with usually 3 to 7 close set branches that rebranch once or twice. The cincinni may be spreading or ascending, and up to 2 cm long, with 2 to 6 flowers. 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 erect and stout, with the lowermost pedicels 1 to 3 mm long and 2 to 2.5 mm thick. Held on the pedicels are the

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

. The calyx is rounded below, 4 to 5 mm wide and 2 to 3 mm high, with sepals being triangular, acute, and 1 to 2 mm long, 2 to 3 mm wide. The sinuses, the cavity between the sepals, are broad and rounded. Petals are white and tinged with pink, or may have a bright red

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. The shape of the petals has them elliptic, acute, 8 to 9 mm long, 3 to 4 mm wide, expanding laterally from just below the middle, and 1 to 1.5 mm connate. Within the flower, the filaments are 5 to 6.5 mm long,

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are ...

, with the epipetalous stamens slightly shorter than the antesepalous stamens.

Anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

are red, and

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 6 to 7 mm high, with thin styles 2 to 2.5 mm long. The seeds of ''D. formosa'' are brown, ovoid, and 1 mm long. They are covered in longitudinal striations, characteristic of their genus.

Taxonomy

Taxonomic history and phylogeny

''Dudleya formosa'' was discovered in July 1945 by a Mr. Fred Wylie, who sent the specimen to the San Diego Natural History Museum. After the specimen was rediscovered by Mrs. Ethel B. Higgins, ''D. formosa'' was described by Reid Moran in the year 1950. Dr. Charles H. Uhl of Cornell University reports a haploid number of 17 chromosomes. ''D. formosa'' was initially placed under the subgenus ''Stylophyllum'' due to the spreading petals and carpels. Since recent phylogenetic analysis has disregarded the existence of the subgenus ''Stylophyllum'', ''D. formosa'' instead finds itself placed in a proposed clade ''Formosa,'' along with '' D. edulis'' and some members of '' D. attenuata''.Yost, J. M., Bontrager, M., McCabe, S. W., Burton, D., Simpson, M. G., Kay, K. M., & Ritter, M. (2013). Phylogenetic relationships and evolution in Dudleya (Crassulaceae). ''Systematic Botany'', ''38''(4), 1096-1104.

Characteristics

''Dudleya formosa'' finds itself distinguished from other members in its clade through its short and broad rosette leaves. The dense inflorescence, stout pedicels, and pink, spreading petals further separate it as a species.

Hybrids

* ''Dudleya attenuata'' subsp. ''attenuata'' ''×'' ''D. formosa'' (Guadalupe Valley hybrid liveforever) - Occurs on the south side of the Guadalupe Valley northeast of Ensenada. * ''

Dudleya brittonii ''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 plan ...

× D. formosa'' (Britton hybrid liveforever) - Confined to the mouth of the Rio Guadalupe north of Ensenada. * ''

Dudleya edulis ''Dudleya edulis'' is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names fingertips, lady fingers, mission lettuce and the San Diego dudleya. The common name denotes the finger-like shape of the leaves, while the specific epithet ...

'' × ''D. formosa'' (Guadalupe La Misión hybrid liveforever) - Occurs on the south side of the Guadalupe Valley.

Distribution and habitat

''Dudleya formosa'' occurs in the

in far northwestern

. It is particularly located around the vicinity of the town of La Misión. It occurs on north-facing cliffs on

basaltic Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

rock.

References

External links

Pictures from CalPhotos
{Taxonbar, from=Q15486880

formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

Flora of Baja California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Taxa named by Reid Venable Moran Endemic flora of Mexico