Dudleya cespitosa

Caudices branched apically loosely or cespitosely, to 30 × 1–4 cm, axillary branches absent. Leaves: rosettes 3–150+, in clumps, 15–30(–50)-leaved, 5–20(–30) cm diam.; blade green, oblong to oblong-oblanceolate, 5–20 × 0.5–4 cm, 3–8 mm thick, base 0.5–4 cm wide, apex acute to subacuminate, surfaces not farinose, sometimes glaucous. Inflorescences: cyme ca. 3-branched, mostly obpyramidal; branches not twisted (flowers on topside), simple or 1–2 times bifurcate, (3–6 cm diam.); cincinni 3–5, 3–14-flowered, circinate, 3–11 cm; floral shoots 10–40 × 0.4–1.2 cm; leaves 12–25, spreading to ascending, triangular-ovate to lanceolate, 10–60 × 10–30 mm, apex acute. Pedicels erect, not bent in fruit, mostly 1–5 mm. Flowers: calyx 4–6 × 4–8 mm; petals connate 1.5–2.5 mm, mostly bright yellow to red, 8–16 × 2.5–5 mm, apex acute, tips erect; pistils connivent, erect. Unripe follicles erect. 2n = 68, 101, 136.

Phenology: Flowering late spring–early summer.
Habitat: Cliffs and rocky slopes near coast
Elevation: 0-600 m

Distribution

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Calif.

Discussion

As circumscribed here, Dudleya cespitosa is a highly variable polyploid complex delimited from neighboring species and not easily divisible on the basis of morphology, distribution, and chromosome number into practical subspecific units.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.