Flora of North America species comparison

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Dudleya attenuata

Dudleya greenei

Orcutt's dudleya, tapertip liveforever

Greene's dudleya, Greene's live forever
Caudices

branched apically, (cespitose), 10–50 × 2–5 cm, axillary branches absent.
Leaves

rosettes 200–300, in clumps, 15–40(–65)-leaved, 5–15 cm diam.;

blade green, oblong-oblanceolate to -obovate, 3–11 × 1–3.5 cm, 4–8 mm thick, base 1–3 cm wide, apex acute to acuminate, subapiculate, surfaces sometimes farinose, not glaucous.
Inflorescences

cyme 3–6-branched, flat-topped or rounded;

branches not twisted (flowers on topside), simple or 1–2 times bifurcate, (4–10 cm diam.);

cincinni 3–5, 2–15-flowered, circinate, 1–9 cm;

floral shoots 15–40 × 0.3–1.3 cm;

leaves 15–25, spreading to ascending, triangular to ovate, 10–30 × 5–12 mm, apex acute, (erect).
Pedicels

erect, not bent in fruit, 1–5 mm.
Flowers

calyx 4–7 × 4–9 mm;

petals connate 1.5–2.5 mm, pale yellow or whitish especially on margins, 8–12 × 3–5 mm, apex acute, tips sometimes outcurved;

pistils connivent, erect.
California

Unripe

follicles erect.
2n

= 68, 102.

Dudleya attenuata

Dudleya greenei
Phenology Flowering early summer.
Habitat Sea cliffs
Elevation 0-300 m (0-1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (1 in the flora).

Subspecies australis Moran occurs in Baja California.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Dudleya greenei, which occurs only on Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa islands, is an insular segregate of the D. cespitosa complex and is not clearly separable. It is extremely variable, in part from island to island. Extreme variants of D. greenei differ from any plants seen of D. cespitosa, for example in having more numerous rosette leaves or outcurved petals. Also, certain variants kept in D. cespitosa have characteristics apparently not matched in D. greenei, such as red corollas and comparatively thin leaves that are channeled adaxially.

Based on 12 collections studied by C. H. Uhl, Dudleya greenei is tetraploid and hexaploid. The three collections from San Miguel Island were hexaploid, the three from Santa Cruz Island and one from Catalina Island were tetraploid, and of the five from Santa Rosa Island, two were tetraploid and three hexaploid. Casual inspection suggests that D. greenei might be derived from something like D. candelabrum, now found on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands, and D. farinosa, now found on the coast of California from Monterey County north.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 176. FNA vol. 8, p. 189.
Parent taxa Crassulaceae > Dudleya > subg. Stylophyllum Crassulaceae > Dudleya > subg. Dudleya
Sibling taxa
D. abramsii, D. arizonica, D. blochmaniae, D. brevifolia, D. candelabrum, D. cespitosa, D. cymosa, D. densiflora, D. edulis, D. farinosa, D. gnoma, D. greenei, D. lanceolata, D. multicaulis, D. nesiotica, D. palmeri, D. parva, D. pulverulenta, D. saxosa, D. stolonifera, D. traskiae, D. variegata, D. verityi, D. virens, D. viscida
D. abramsii, D. arizonica, D. attenuata, D. blochmaniae, D. brevifolia, D. candelabrum, D. cespitosa, D. cymosa, D. densiflora, D. edulis, D. farinosa, D. gnoma, D. lanceolata, D. multicaulis, D. nesiotica, D. palmeri, D. parva, D. pulverulenta, D. saxosa, D. stolonifera, D. traskiae, D. variegata, D. verityi, D. virens, D. viscida
Subordinate taxa
D. attenuata subsp. attenuata
Synonyms Cotyledon attenuata, Stylophyllum attenuatum
Name authority (S. Watson) Moran: Desert Pl. Life 14: 191. (1943) Rose: in N. L. Britton and J. N. Rose, New N. Amer. Crassul., 17. 1903 ,
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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