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Santa Cruz Island Dudleya

Dudleya nesiotica

Dudleya nesiotica is a very rare succulent plant known by the common name Santa Cruz Island liveforever. This dudleya is endemic to Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands of California. This is a squat plant growing in mats on the rocky, exposed ground of the windswept island. It is a federally listed threatened species. Dudleya nesiotica bears a few pointed or rounded leaves during the winter months when moisture is available, and it goes dormant during the summer, leaving behind only its tough caudex. It blooms in short inflorescences of small white star-shaped flowers. It is self-compatible, so it can reproduce without receiving the pollen of another plant. Ecology. Various mosses and lichens may be beneficial to the germination of the seeds of this plant by adding nutrients, moisture, substrate, and protection from snails and slugs. This plant is known from a single population which is spread over about 32 acres of land on this island. The population ranges between 4000 and 260,000 individual plants. All the plants occur on land which is owned and protected by The Nature Conservancy. There are several factors affecting the abundance of this species. It has been impacted by habitat loss and degradation, including the loss of soil on the island. This was the result of introduced species such as pigs, cows, and sheep, as well as non-native weeds. The soil became compacted and eroded, and it lost the upper layers of leaf litter and cryptobiotic crust. Soil loss is continuing even after the removal of the non-native mammals. This plant may hybridize with some of its relatives, including D. greenei and D. candelabrum.

Laguna Beach Dudleya

Dudleya stolonifera

Dudleya stolonifera is a succulent plant known by the common name Laguna Beach liveforever. This is a rare plant which is endemic to the coastline of Orange County, California. It is known from only about six populations in the vicinity of Laguna Beach, totalling about 30,000 individuals. It is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States. This dudleya grows from an unbranched caudex stem and is unusual among related plants in that it has stolons from which it sprouts vegetatively. Dudleya stolonifera produces a small rosette of pointed reddish-green leaves and erects a short stem topped with an inflorescence. The flowers are bright yellow. Ecology. This dudleya grows on steep, weathered sandstone cliffs, mostly in coastal sage scrub habitat, and sometimes in chaparral. The cliffs are so steep they may be vertical or overhanging. It grows in very thin soils that support very few types of plants; the dudleya is usually found among only mosses and lichens, and sometimes the fern California polypody (Polypodium californicum). It may have an association with the lichen Niebla ceruchoides, which might act as a bed for the seeds of the dudleya when they fall to the ground. This species sometimes hybridizes with Dudleya edulis in the one area where they occur together. Less often it hybridizes with Dudleya lanceolata. This rare plant faces a number of threats to its survival. The effects of urban development may harm the plant. The habitat is too rugged in most areas to be directly developed, but associated changes to the habitat from nearby development may include the edge effect. When the plant was listed as threatened it was plucked from the wild by plant collectors; this is no longer thought to be a serious problem because the occurrences are too difficult for people to access. Grazing and trampling by livestock had a negative effect on the plant but grazing has been stopped in the area, causing the plant to rebound. Climate change is considered a threat today. Because the populations are few and small the plant may be extirpated by any major local event, such as wildfire, or by processes such as inbreeding depression. Competition with other plants, especially non-native species, threatens the dudleya. In one area it is being displaced by invading Aeonium haworthii.

Verity's Dudleya

Dudleya verityi

Dudleya verityi is a rare species of succulent plant known by the common name Verity's liveforever. It is endemic to Ventura County, California, where it is known from only three occurrences in the vicinity of Conejo Mountain between Camarillo and Thousand Oaks. It probably occurs in a few additional locations nearby which have not yet been officially vouchered. This is a fleshy perennial plant growing from a branching caudex several centimeters long. The leaves appear in a basal rosette about the caudex, each oblong to lance-shaped and generally pointed. The leaves are waxy in texture, pale grayish or pinkish green in color, and up to 5 centimeters long. The erect inflorescence is composed of a bract-lined peduncle up to 15 centimeters tall which splits into terminal branches each bearing several flowers. The flower has a base of fleshy, triangular sepals and longer, bright yellow petals just over a centimeter long. Ecology. This dudleya associates with mosses and lichens. It often grows in layers of the lichen Niebla ceruchoides, which may provide a moisture-capturing bed for seeds that fall from it. This dudleya hybridizes with other species, such as Blochman's liveforever (Dudleya blochmaniae). This species is only found on one edge of the Santa Monica Mountains, where it occurs in coastal sage scrub habitat. The dominant plants are California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) and purple sage (Salvia leucophylla). At least two occurrences are within the campus bounds of California State University, Channel Islands. It is a federally listed threatened species, with the main threat to its existence being destruction of its habitat for development, mining, and flood control.

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