A N F Keys
1 Annuals with opposite decussate leaves having pairs fused across nodes (perfoliate) and blades < 3 mm long; inflorescences terminal and axillary with tiny flowers to 1.3 mm across, present among leaves; sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils having 4 per whorl .. Crassula connata [pics]
1' Leaf succulent perennials with mostly helically alternate leaves and blades > 8 mm long; inflorescences on a long stalk above foliage with relatively showy flowers; sepals, petals, and pistils typically 5 or more per whorl, stamens 2× sepals
2 Foliage in dense, leafy rosettes at the end of branches > 300 mm long; blades short-ciliate on margins, often glossy and not glaucous; calyx puberulent, petals 9-11 .. Aeonium arboreum [pics]
2' Foliage usually forming a dense or loose rosette close to ground; blades never ciliate on margins, often glaucous and sometimes exceedingly so; calyx glabrous, petals 5(-6)
3 Plantlets formed aboveground via stolons and growing by rhizomes; inflorescence on each shoot terminal; corolla of separate petals; pistils and follicles 4-5 .. Sedum spathulifolium [pics]
3' Plantlets formed only belowground via rhizomes or corms; inflorescences on each plant axillary to old leaves; corolla with fused petals (5-lobed); pistils and follicles 5-6 .. Dudleya
Dudleya Brit.
& Rose
LIVEFOREVER
(In Progress)
.. Dudleya blochmaniae subsp. blochmaniae [pics]
.. Dudleya cymosa subsp. agourensis [pics]
.. Dudleya cymosa subsp. cymosa [pics]
.. Dudleya cymosa subsp. marcescens [pics]
.. Dudleya cymosa subsp. ovatifolia [pics]
.. Dudleya palmeri [pics]
.. Dudleya pulverulenta [pics]
The text of the above keys used with permission from
A Naturalist's Flora of the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills, California
© Copyright
Barry A. Prigge and Arthur C. Gibson
2013