''Dudleya formosa'', known by the common name La Misión liveforever, is a species of

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

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 only 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 foun ...

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 Sta ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

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

Description

Morphology

''Dudleya formosa'' has a trailing

caudex A caudex (: 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 most ...

, 0.5 to 2.5 cm thick, becoming over 5

decimeters The decimetre (or in American English; symbol: dm), is a unit of length in the International System of Units, equal to one tenth of a metre, ten centimetres, one hundred millimetres, and 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 (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are

oblong An oblong is an object longer than it is wide, especially 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 ...

to oblong-

obovate The following terms are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade is divided into two or more leaflets) ...

, 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, is a genus of rosette-forming succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in many forms, so ...

'' 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 Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

), and flat above (

dorsally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

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

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 ''Decurrent'' (sometimes decurring) is a term used in botany and mycology to describe plant or fungal parts that extend downward. In botany, the term is most often applied to leaf blades that partly wrap or have wings around the stem or petio ...

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, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

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

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

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 a bilaterian animal belonging to the phyl ...

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

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

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 In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...

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 Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

. The

calyx CALYX, Inc. is a non-profit publisher of art and literature by women founded in 1976 based in Corvallis, Oregon. CALYX publishes both '' CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women'' twice a year and CALYX Books, which publishes one to three ...

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 Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

are white and tinged with pink, or may have a bright red

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. 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, popularly referred to as Siamese twins, are twins joined '' ...

, with the epipetalous

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

slightly shorter than the antesepalous stamens.

Anthers The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

are red, and

carpels Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) 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) ...

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 The San Diego Natural History Museum is a museum in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. It is the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi and the oldest ...

. After the specimen was rediscovered by Mrs. Ethel B. Higgins, ''D. formosa'' was described by

Reid Moran Reid Venable Moran (June 30, 1916 – January 21, 2010) was an American botanist and the curator of botany at the San Diego Natural History Museum from 1957 to 1982. Moran was the world authority on the Crassulaceae, a family of succulent plants, ...

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 Ensenada ("inlet") is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja Californ ...

. * ''

Dudleya brittonii ''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers, is a genus of rosette-forming succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in many forms, so ...

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

rock.

References

External links

Pictures from CalPhotos
{Taxonbar, from=Q15486880

formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

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