Limestone liveforever facts for kids

The Dudleya calcicola is a special type of succulent plant. People often call it the limestone liveforever or limestone dudleya. This plant is found only in California, which means it is endemic there. It likes to grow in rare places like limestone rocks and rocky hillsides. You can find it in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and other nearby hills.

How the Limestone Liveforever Looks

Leaves and Rosette

This plant grows its leaves in a circular shape, like a rose, called a rosette. This rosette can be about 10 centimeters (4 inches) wide. Each leaf is thick and fleshy, like a succulent. They can be shaped like a blade or a cone. Each leaf can grow up to 10 centimeters long and 1 centimeter wide. The leaves are smooth, without any hairs. They are usually light green, but sometimes they have hints of pink or yellow.

Stems and Flowers

From the center of the rosette, a straight stem grows upwards. This main stem is called a caudex. At the top, it branches out into many smaller stems. This whole flowering part is called an inflorescence. The main stem and its branches can be dark or very light, almost white. Each small branch can be several centimeters long. It usually holds two to eight flowers.

The flowers are a very light yellow color, sometimes with a reddish-yellow tint. Their petals are sharply pointed. Each petal is about 1 to 1.5 centimeters (half an inch) long.

Where the Limestone Liveforever Grows

This plant is not usually grown in gardens. This is because it needs special soil that has a lot of limestone in it. This type of soil is hard to find outside of its natural home.

Wild populations of the limestone liveforever face some challenges. Things like off-road vehicles driving where they grow can harm them. Also, cattle grazing (eating plants) in their habitat can affect these rare plants.

Images for kids

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  Growing in the crevice of a boulder

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  This species is very caespitose, with the rosettes clumping together