המועדפים של toyonito

The plants at the top of the first image are tchester#1651; the two infl and two flowers at the bottom of the voucher sheet are tchester#1650, taken from plants at a slightly different location. The location of this observation is the one for #1651.

Since iNat limits any post to 20 pix, additional pix of these vouchers are in these obs:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/145980635

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/145980971

This obs is a follow-up to the plants which were seen 5 days earlier:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102278702

Summary of characteristics from these fresh samples:

3 rosettes from single root.
wide portion of caudex up to 20 mm long x 14 mm wide

rosettes 3.5 cm in width

lvs 19-33 per rosette

longest lf 39 x 11 mm, unpressed thickness 4.0 mm, pressed thickness 3.2 mm.

lf mostly oblong, with widest portion of leaf at middle to 1/4 length down from tip (i.e., at 0.5 - 0.75 of length of length, measured from proximal end).

cross section of leaf is strongly flattened (thickness to width ratio of 3.2 / 11 = 0.29) and only slightly curved.

peduncle 20-85 mm, 3.5 mm wide at base

infl consists of 2-3 main branches, with the branches being simple or forked into two subequal 2 deg branches.

uppermost bract (just below main infl branches) 4.5 x 3.8 to 7 x 4.5 and 8.5 x 4 mm

14-23 fls per infl

ultimate infl branches with 3-7 flowers.

pedicels 3-7 mm.

calyx 3.5-5.0 mm long (including connate portion), lobe width at base 2-4 mm

petals:

• 7.5-11 (12.2) mm, connate for 1.0-2.1 mm (13-26% of length)
• bright yellow to orange
• somewhat to markedly keeled, keel marked pink

stamens 7.0-7.5 mm, distal end below petal tips by 2.9 mm, attached at same point of corolla to having one or more antisepalous anthers attached 0.4-2.0 mm higher than others (i.e., some flowers have one attached 0 mm higher; others 0.5 mm higher; and others 2.0 mm higher).

Disagreements with D. cymosa pumila:

• rosette with up to 33 leaves, more than the "usually 10-25 leaved".
• the peduncles can be shorter than 5-15 (25) cm, being as short as 2 cm.
• the petals can be shorter than 10-12 mm, being as short as 7.5 mm.

Disagreements with just the species D. cymosa:

• the 3.5 cm rosette width is at the small end of the D. cymosa range of (3)6-15(35) cm. However, voucher measurements might be too small, since the rosette seems to curl up once the plant leaves the ground.
• the pedicels of 3-7 mm are shorter than the "usually 5-15 mm" for D. cymosa.

I have all the individual measurements of all the pedicels, etc., if anyone wants them. They are way too numerous to post here, and have been summarized above.

Could not find enough photos of how it grows in habitat. If you're wondering: this is a shady slope on the outer edge of the road but they sometimes grew on inner sides as well in slightly more shade.

Growing on the north side of a large fragmented boulder, on the Mt Laguna rim. Close-up in second photo, entire population at this spot in the last photo. Spent about twenty minutes searching the cliffs below this and couldn't turn up any other plants.