Flora of North America species comparison

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Dudleya attenuata

Dudleya viscida

Orcutt's dudleya, tapertip liveforever

sticky dudleya, sticky liveforever
Caudices

to 5 dm × 1–4 cm, clumps to 5+ dm diam.
Leaves

with resinous odor;

rosette 15–50-leaved, 10–20 cm diam.;

blade light to dark or yellowish green, linear-deltate, tapering from base, convex or obtusely angled abaxially, laminar and flat or convex adaxially, often terete near apex, 6–15 × 0.5–1.5 cm, 2–5 mm thick, 2–6 times wider than thick, base 1–2 cm wide, surfaces not farinose, viscid, appearing oily.
Inflorescences

cyme 3–15-branched, flat to cylindric, (to 3 × 1.5 dm);

branches (close set), 1–2 times bifurcate;

cincinni 3–11-flowered, scarcely circinate, 2–7 cm;

floral shoots 2–7 dm × 2–10 mm;

leaves 20–40, ascending, triangular-lanceolate, 1–6 × 0.3–0.5 cm.
Pedicels

1–4 mm.
Flowers

petals widespreading from middle or slightly reflexed, connate 1–2 mm, white to pink, elliptic, 6–10 × 2.5–3.5 mm, apex acute, corolla 12–22 mm diam.;

pistils suberect or ascending, (pink, slender), 6–10 mm;

styles 2.4–4 mm.
California

Follicles

ascending, with adaxial margins ca. 45–60º above horizontal.
2n

= 34.

Dudleya attenuata

Dudleya viscida
Phenology Flowering late spring–early summer.
Habitat Among rocks and on north-facing cliffs
Elevation 0-500 m (0-1600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[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.)

Of conservation concern.

Dudleya viscida is known from only five or six areas on the mainland, in Orange and San Diego counties, some affected by development and road construction; it is considered fairly threatened (California Native Plant Society, http://cnps.web.aplus.net/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi). It is abundant where it grows; in San Juan Canyon, Orange County, for example, it can be seen from the highway, off and on, for some six kilometers, from 190 to 350 meters, with a total of thousands of plants. Reproduction is vigorous, and old roadcuts are heavily colonized. It is a local plant but hardly a rare one.

Dudleya viscida differs conspicuously from all other species of the genus in its strongly viscid and fragrant herbage. The sticky exudate seems to come from the epidermal cells generally, in which the cytoplasm looks much denser than in subepidermal cells and in epidermal cells of nonviscid Crassulaceae. R. L. Rodriguez C. (pers. comm.) said that this exudate appeared to be a soft resin or oleoresin with a terpene solvent. Among other species, only D. anomala of Baja California is even slightly viscid and odorous; it is a polyploid that very likely is derived in part from D. viscida.

According to P. H. Thomson (1993), Dudleya viscida hybridizes in nature with D. edulis and with D. pulverulenta. It is an attractive plant that does well in cultivation.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 176. FNA vol. 8, p. 175.
Parent taxa Crassulaceae > Dudleya > subg. Stylophyllum Crassulaceae > Dudleya > subg. Stylophyllum
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. 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
Subordinate taxa
D. attenuata subsp. attenuata
Synonyms Cotyledon attenuata, Stylophyllum attenuatum Cotyledon viscida, Stylophyllum viscidum
Name authority (S. Watson) Moran: Desert Pl. Life 14: 191. (1943) (S. Watson) Moran: Desert Pl. Life 14: 191. 1943 ,
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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