Dudleya cymosa subsp. pumila

(Rose) K. M. Nakai

Madroño 34: 336. 1988,.

Endemic
Basionym: Dudleya pumila Rose in N. L. Britton and J. N. Rose, New N. Amer. Crassul., 14. 1903
Synonyms: Dudleya goldmanii Rose
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 8. Treatment on page 181. Mentioned on page 180, 182.

Caudices simple or 2–5-branched, 1–2(–3.5) cm diam. Leaves: rosettes usually 10–25-leaved; blade green, rhombic-oblanceolate to spatulate, 1.5–5(–10) × 1–3(–6) cm, apex mostly short-acuminate to cuspidate, surfaces sometimes farinose, glaucous. Inflorescences: floral shoots 5–20-leaved, 5–15(–25) cm; cincinni 3+, 3–6-flowered, mostly 1–3 cm. Petals bright yellow to red, 10–12 × 2.5–4 mm. 2n = 34.


Phenology: Flowering spring.
Habitat: Rock crevices, rocky slopes
Elevation: 100-2600 m

Discussion

Plants of subsp. pumila in the San Gabriel Mountains are rather uniformly small, with the rosette leaves rhomboid and short-acuminate to cuspidate. Taken by themselves, they would seem a quite well-distinguished subspecies, and many plants of the Santa Lucia Mountains are similar. Plants of the San Bernardino Mountains are similar but apparently more variable; in the Santa Lucia Mountains the plants are perhaps even more variable, some like subsp. cymosa. Thus there is no clear line between the two subspecies.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.