CALCICOLA Bartel & Shevock, 1983

Synonym : Dudleya abramsii ssp. calcicola  (Bartel & Shevock) K.M.Nakai (1988)

Subgenus Dudleya

Distribution : USA (California: especially Sequoia National Forest); open rocks, mostly limestone, 500 - 2600 m, not frequent.

Description (according to IHSP, 2003) :

Stems 1 - 2 cm in diameter.

Rosette 1 - 9 cm in diameter, with 10 - 20 (-30) leaves, solitary or usually many, up to > 50 and forming dense cushions.

Leaves oblong-lanceolate or attenuate from the base to the tip, acute to acurninate, 1 - 8 (-10) x 0.3 - 1.3 (-1.6) cm, farinose to glaucous, becoming glaucous with age.

Inflorescence : Scape 3 - 18 (-25) cm, glaucous, inflorescence with 2 - 4 not or up to 3x branched spreading scorpioid branches, these 1 - 6 cm, with 2 - 8 (-10) flowers, pedicels 1 - 14 mm.

Flowers : Calyx 3 - 7 x 3 – 7 mm, sepals triangular-ovate to -lanceolate, 2.5 - 6 x 2 - 4 mm, glaucous or becoming glaucous, corolla 9 – 15 (-18) x 3.5 - 5 (-6) mm, petals lanceolate, erect, (esp. later) strongly recurved, narrowly pointed, 2 – 4 (-4.5) mm wide, straw-coloured or usually pale yellow, keel darker yellow to red-striped, tube 1 - 3 mm.

Cytology : n = 17

Intermediate between D. abramsii ssp. abramsii and D. cymosa ssp. cymosa according to the protologue. According to Nakai (1988a), it is, however, more closely related to D. abramsii, and the two show a broad overlap in characters, and especially the red-striped petals and the difference in length (1 - 1.5 mm) between the episepal and epipetal filaments are congruent with the latter (D. cymosa <0.5 mm).