Dudleya abramsii
Encyclopedia
Dudleya abramsii is a succulent plant
known by the common name Abrams' liveforever. It is native to California
and northern Baja California
, where it grows in rocky areas in a number of habitat types. It is a fleshy perennial forming a small basal cluster of leaves around a central caudex
. The thick, waxy leaves are triangular to oblong and usually pointed, reaching up to 11 centimeters in length, but often remaining much smaller. The entire rosette is generally only a few centimeters wide. The inflorescence
is a mostly erect, branching stem lined with pointed bract
s and bearing up to 15 flowers. The flower has five small, thick sepal
s at the base of five pale yellow petals each about a centimeter long.
There are several subspecies:
Succulent plant
Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climates or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaves, stems, and also in roots...
known by the common name Abrams' liveforever. It is native to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and northern Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it grows in rocky areas in a number of habitat types. It is a fleshy perennial forming a small basal cluster of leaves around a central caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
. The thick, waxy leaves are triangular to oblong and usually pointed, reaching up to 11 centimeters in length, but often remaining much smaller. The entire rosette is generally only a few centimeters wide. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a mostly erect, branching stem lined with pointed bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s and bearing up to 15 flowers. The flower has five small, thick sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s at the base of five pale yellow petals each about a centimeter long.
There are several subspecies:
- D. a. ssp. abramsii - native to the Peninsular RangesPeninsular RangesThe Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...
of California and Baja California - D. a. ssp. affinis (San Bernardino Mountains liveforever) - endemic to the San Bernardino MountainsSan Bernardino MountainsThe San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
near the edge of the Mojave DesertMojave DesertThe Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States... - D. a. ssp. bettinae (San Luis Obispo serpentine dudleya or Betty's liveforever) - endemic to the coastal serpentineSerpentine soilA serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
of San Luis Obispo County, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo County, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census... - D. a. ssp. murina (San Luis Obispo or mouse-leaved dudleya) - endemic to coastal San Luis Obispo County
- D. a. ssp. parva (Conejo dudleya) - endemic to the Santa Monica MountainsSanta Monica MountainsThe Santa Monica Mountains are a Transverse Range in Southern California, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States.-Geography:...
of Ventura CountyVentura County, CaliforniaVentura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
and treated as a federally listed threatened species