Dudleya pauciflora

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Dudleya pauciflora
Dudleya pauciflora 1.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Dudleya
Species:
D. pauciflora
Binomial name
Dudleya pauciflora

Dudleya pauciflora is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name few-flower liveforever.[1] It is characterized by its small, crowded rosettes of narrow leaves, and its colorful inflorescence with strongly red-marked yellow flowers. Found growing on rocky outcrops and cliffs in the high elevation mountains of the Sierra de San Pedro Martir and the Sierra de San Borja, it is endemic to the state of Baja California, Mexico.[2]

Description[]

Dudleya pauciflora growing from a crevice

Dudleya pauciflora grows at montane elevations in Baja California, which is unusual for a member of the genus Dudleya. The caudex is short, 0.7 - 2.5 cm thick, and forms large clumps. Rosettes are abundant on the base of the plant, and each possesses between 15 - 25 erect leaves. Leaves are green, farinose, and triangular-lanceolate. It is visited by hummingbirds, and reflects this with it's red inflorescence, long, slender pedicels and red-marked corollas, with a tube 2 - 4mm long. The small, clustered rosettes of D. pauciflora resemble Dudleya abramsii, though it bears an even closer resemblance to another montane Dudleya with its inflorescence, D. nubigena.[2][3]

Taxonomy[]

Townshend Stith Brandegee, a noted botanist and explorer of the Baja California Peninsula, collected this plant in May of 1893, at a locality some 200 km south of the border in the Sierra de San Pedro Martir. Brandegee was one of the first botanists to explore this range, which is the highest on the peninsula.[4] As his specimen was collected in May, he was too early to witness the flowers, since this species blooms from July to September. His specimen only contained dry floral stems from the previous season.[2]

Dr. Joseph Nelson Rose, in his revision of the North American Crassulaceae with Nathaniel Lord Britton, named this plant from Brandegee's specimen. Working with only the dried floral stems, the name pauciflora, which means "few-flowered," was applied. Reid Moran noted that the species does not, in fact, have notably few flowers, but that the epithet was a result of the poor type specimen Rose was working off of.[2]

Distribution and habitat[]

Dudleya pauciflora occurs at high elevations in the Sierra San Pedro Mártir and the Sierra de San Borja, in Baja California. Occurrences of D. pauciflora can be found from 1,250m to the peak of the San Pedro Mártir, Picacho del Diablo, at up to 3,025m. 240 km to the south-southeast, in the Sierra de San Borja, D. pauciflora is also present, occurring up to the highest peak in the range, Cerro la Sandia.[1][2][5]

See also[]

Montane species of Dudleya:

References[]

  1. ^ a b Rebman, Jon P.; Gibson, Judy; Rich, Karen (15 November 2016). "ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO" (PDF). Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History. San Diego Natural History Museum. 45 – via San Diego Plant Atlas & San Diego Natural History Museum.
  2. ^ a b c d e Moran, Reid. "Dudleya pauciflora". Cactus & Succulent Journal of America. 60: 219.
  3. ^ "Dudleya pauciflora". SEINet. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17.
  4. ^ Brandegee, Townshend Stith (1893). "Southern extensions of California flora". Zoe. 4: 199–210.
  5. ^ "Dudleya pauciflora". Tropicos. Archived from the original on 2021-08-17.
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