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Catalina Island Live-forever
Dudleya virens ssp. hassei
33.3267, -118.34
Field Notes
Description:
The Dudleya virens leaves are fleshy and strap-shaped, 8-20 cm long and 1.5-3 cm broad, tapering from the base (or from near middle) and are mostly green. They are arranged in a rosette. The flowers are white, with five petals 7-10 mm long; they are produced in April, May, and June. Hummingbirds visit the flowers for their nectar.
Habitat:
The Wrigley Memorial & Botanical Gardens
The idea for a garden came from Mr. Wrigley’s wife, Ada. In 1935, she supervised Pasadena horticulturalist Albert Conrad, who planted the original Desert Plant Collection. Catalina Island’s temperate marine climate made it possible to showcase plants from every corner of the earth.
In 1969, the Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation expanded and revitalized the garden’s 37.85 acres. Along with the new plantings came a new attitude. In the same way that the Wrigley Memorial uses primarily native building materials, the Garden places a special emphasis on California island endemic plants. (Plants, which grow naturally on one or more of the California islands, but nowhere else in the world.) Many of these plants are extremely rare, and some are on the Endangered Species list.
The Memorial Garden is particularly concerned with the six Catalina endemics – plants, which grow naturally only on Catalina Island. The Wrigley Memorial Garden Foundation maintains a special interest in the preservation of all Catalina endemics, including the rare Catalina Ironwood.
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