''Dudleya saxosa'' is a

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 species 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 ...

, within the genus ''Dudleya'', which are commonly known as ''liveforevers''.Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd ed., 2013, This species is a complex of 3 subspecies of plants, isolated and disjunct in distribution from one another, each with varying levels of ploidy and morphology. One plant is native throughout the deserts and mountains of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, another is found in the Panamint Mountains, and one is found throughout central

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Description

''Dudleya saxosa'' is plant that grows from a rosette of fleshy leaves, which may be flat and blade-shaped to somewhat cylindrical. It bolts one or more erect stems which are usually dull pink to red in color, sometimes with pale green coloration. Atop the stems are compact

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 ...

s of flowers with bright yellow petals.

Subdivisions

* ''Dudleya saxosa'' subsp. ''saxosa'' (Panamint live-forever)A geographically isolated and polyploid population from the other species, this plant is found in the

Panamint Range The Panamint Range is a short rugged fault-block mountain range in the northern Mojave Desert, within Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, eastern California. Dr. Darwin French is credited as applying the term Panamint in 1860 during his s ...

near

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

. * ''Dudleya saxosa'' subsp. ''aloides'' (desert live-forever) Occurs widely throughout the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

and the desert mountains of

. Composed of several somewhat different diploid populations, including ''

Dudleya alainae ''Dudleya saxosa'' subsp. ''aloides'' is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names desert dudleya or desert savior. It is a rosette-forming species widely distributed throughout the Peninsular Ra ...

''. * ''Dudleya saxosa'' subsp. ''collomiae'' (Gila County live-forever) A well isolated polyploid subspecies found throughout central

. It is most similar to the diploid subsp. ''aloides''.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Dudleya saxosa''USDA Plants Profile: ''Dudleya saxosa'UC CalPhotos gallery of ''Dudleya saxosa''
saxosa Flora of California Flora of Baja California Flora of the California desert regions Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Mojave Desert Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Panamint Range Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Crassulaceae-stub