''Dudleya parva'', known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

Conejo dudleya, is a species of

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

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 native to the

Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle del Conejo'', meaning "Valley of the Rabbit") is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County, California, Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles C ...

and surrounding regions. It blooms from May to June, and has vernal leaves. It is only found from the western end of

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County, California, Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, of Southern California, United States. The range runs ma ...

along the Montclef Ridge to the Conejo Grade in Newbury Park.Faber, Phyllis M. (2005). ''California's Wild Gardens: A Guide to Favorite Botanical Sites''. University of California Press. Page 164. .

Description

Characteristics

This species of ''Dudleya'' is an especially unique taxa, as it possesses several characteristics intermediate within the genus. It was previously thought ''Dudleya'' were organized into three subgenera; ''Dudleya, Stylophyllum,'' and ''Hasseanthus''. It was thought that ''Dudleya'' and ''Hasseanthus'' were the most distant from each other, and that ''Stylophyllum'' occupied an intermediate space. ''Dudleya'' were thought to have

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

leaves and habit, while ''Hasseanthus'' were classified with a

, geophytic habit. ''Dudleya parva'', however, was originally classified in the subgenera ''Dudleya'', but it presents several traits of ''Hasseanthus''. It has summer deciduous leaves, and a rhizomatous habit. It is also unusual among ''Dudleya'' in that it may be rooted from the leaves, which has only been recorded among other ''Hasseanthus''-type ''Dudleya''.

Morphology

Arising from stems may be multiple rosettes, at most several, each 1 to 6 cm wide. The roots are narrowed and swollen at irregular intervals, with rhizome-like branches extending from the roots of the plant. The rhizomes often resemble shriveled roots for most of the year, and are very fragile. The rhizomes are not a good character for field identification. Because the plant is rhizomatous, the above-ground parts of the plant may die back for several years, surviving underground as a rootstock. It is a long-lived species, with some examples surviving over 24 years in cultivation. The stems are 2 to 7 mm wide. The leaves are deciduous in summer, and are 1.5 to 4 cm long, 3 to 6 mm wide, and shaped oblanceolate, glaucous in youth, but papery when dry. The base of the leaves is a wounding purple to red. The peduncle of the inflorescence is 4 to 23 cm tall, and 1 to 5 mm wide. The lower bracts are 5 to 15 mm, and the inflorescence branches once or twice. The petals are yellow, and the keel is often flecked with red. The 2n chromosome number is 34. File:Conejo liveforever imported from iNaturalist photo 16312831 on 19 November 2021.jpg, A budding specimen File:Conejo liveforever imported from iNaturalist photo 16312820 on 19 November 2021.jpg, Budding flower stalks arising from the base File:Conejo liveforever imported from iNaturalist photo 6647656 on 19 November 2021.jpg, The basal rosettes

Distribution and habitat

The entire species is located over a 16 km stretch of land on an east-west ridgeline of Conejo volcanics, on the western end of the Simi Hills, along Mountclef Ridge, and terminating near Conejo Grade. This distribution only covers an area of around several hundred acres. The population boundaries exhibits some annual fluctuations, but otherwise it has remained in the same suitable habitat area for some time. The rugged terrain makes tracking populations difficult, along with the summer deciduous habit. It is typically found on north-facing cliffs of the Conejo volcanics, and on the adjacent

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

Conservation

This species is threatened by land development and recreational activity. A significant portion of the land that this species occurs on is designated as "open space" by the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, or on parklands managed by Ventura County. The remaining habitat is either owned by local governments, or is privately owned land. An increase in the number of hikers, tramplers and invasive species has damaged the population. Many of the sites occurring on private land cannot be adequately surveyed.

References