Dudleya blochmaniae ssp. brevifolia
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Dudleya brevifolia (Dudleya blochmaniae subsp. brevifolia) |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Crassulaceae |
| Genus: | Dudleya |
| Species: | D. brevifolia |
| Binomial name | |
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Dudleya brevifolia (Moran) Moran |
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| Synonyms | |
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Dudleya blochmaniae subsp. brevifolia Moran |
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Dudleya blochmaniae subsp. brevifolia Moran
Dudleya brevifolia, is a rare succulent plant known by the common name short-leaved liveforever or short-leaved dudleya. It was formerly a subspecies of Dudleya blochmaniae.
The plant is endemic to coastal sage scrub habitats in southern California, found only in an extremely limited range within southwestern San Diego County. It is found at Torrey Pines State Reserve in the La Jolla neighborhood of the City of San Diego, and several sites in Del Mar, both coastal communities within the county.
It is only found on bare surface hardpans of Torrey sandstone with minimal topsoil, from 30–250 metres (98–820 ft) in elevation. Small marble-sized, iron-bearing granules are present at all sites and are likely an edaphic requirement.
Dudleya brevifolia grows into a somewhat erect, small (1–4 cm), cryptic, and corm-like succulent perennial. It has cone-shaped leaves along its hidden stem. It may be brown, reddish-purple, or greenish. It sprouts after significant winter rains (typically December to February).
It bears a branching inflorescence with a few flowers per branch, each opening into a star-shaped bloom with five pointed petals. The bloom period is April to June.
The plant produces a many-seeded fruit from a simple pistil, which disperses seeds along a single suture.
Their population is highly dependent on rainfall, exploding in population when there is annual rainfall over 10 inches, and drastically shrinking when there is less than 4 inches of annual rainfall. The species is seriously threatened by urbanization, vehicles, foot traffic, and fire break construction.
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