Dudleya caespitosa
Encyclopedia
Dudleya caespitosa is a succulent plant
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 several common names, including Sealettuce, Sand lettuce, and Coast dudleya. It is endemic 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...

, where it grows along the coastline in the southern half of the state.

Description

This dudleya
Dudleya
Dudleya is a genus of succulent perennials, consisting of about 45 species in southwest North America.Many plants in the Dudleya genus were formerly classified as Echeveria....

 starts from a rosette up to 20 centimeters wide, containing up to 30 leaves. The leaves are fleshy, pale green, and cone-shaped to oblong, one or two centimeters wide and almost a centimeter thick. The stem is a 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...

 which grows erect up to about 20 centimeters in height before branching into 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...

. Its color is variable, from green to red and yellow shades. At the top is a tall inflorescence which may hold 10 or 15 flowers on each of several branches. The flowers are bright yellow with pointed petals.

See also

  • California coastal sage and chaparral
    California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion
    The California coastal sage and chaparral, a sub-ecoregion of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, is found in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California in Mexico.-Location:...

    - (subecoregion)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK