Dudleya abramsii is a species complex of succulent plants native to California and parts of Baja California. There are numerous subspecies, some critically endangered, with varying habits and lifestyles, but most often characterized by a smaller size, yellow flowers, and an affinity for rocky habitats.[2] The subspecies may be polyphyletic.[3]

Dudleya abramsii
subsp. abramsii

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Dudleya
Species:
D. abramsii
Binomial name
Dudleya abramsii

Description

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Dudleya abramsii is a fleshy perennial forming a small basal cluster of leaves around a central caudex. The habit of Dudleya abramsii is growing in either solitary rosettes or in caespitose forms. The thick, glaucous leaves are lance-oblong to lanceolate, reaching up to 11 centimeters in length, but often remaining much smaller, usually 2 to 30 mm long, and 3 to 20 mm wide. The entire rosette is generally only 0.5 to 15 cm wide. The inflorescence is a mostly erect, branching stem lined with pointed bracts and bearing up to 15 flowers. The inflorescence has a peduncle 2 to 25 cm tall, and 1 to 6 mm wide. The lower bracts are 4 to 40 mm large, and the pedicels are anywhere from 0.5 to 7 mm long. The flower has five small, thick sepals at the base of five pale to cream yellow petals each roughly 8 to 13 mm long. The keel of the flower is tinged with fine, purple to red lines.[2]

Taxonomy

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There are several subspecies, and many former subspecies with differing recognition. Flora of North America and The Jepson Manual have elevated Dudleya parva to a species, while other subspecies have been moved to Dudleya cymosa[2]

The following subspecies are recognized in the 2012 Jepson eFlora:

Distribution and habitat

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D. abramsii is native to California and northern Baja California, where it grows in rocky areas in a number of habitat types.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0".
  2. ^ a b c d McCabe, Stephen Ward (2012). "Dudleya abramsii". Jepson eFlora. Jepson Flora Project (eds.). Archived from the original on 2017-08-29. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  3. ^ Yost, J. M.; Bontrager, M.; McCabe, S. W.; Burton, D.; Simpson, M. G.; Kay, K. M.; Ritter, M. (2013). "Phylogenetic relationships and evolution in Dudleya (Crassulaceae)" (PDF). Systematic Botany. 38 (4): 1096–1104. doi:10.1600/036364413X674760. S2CID 15715233.
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