Dudleya, commonly known as liveforevers is a genus of succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in multiple forms, some large and evergreen, others cryptic and deciduous. The flowers of Dudleya have parts numbered in 5, and when fruiting are filled with tiny, ovoid or crescent-shaped seeds.
Dudleya abramsiisubsp. setchellii, known by the common name Dudleya setchellii, the Santa Clara Valley dudleya, or Santa Clara Valley liveforever, is a member of the Dudleya genus of succulent perennials, members of the family Crassulaceae. The Santa Clara Valley dudleya, endemic to the Santa Clara Valley region in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, was listed on February 3, 1995, as an endangered species. It is considered to be a subspecies of Dudleya abramsii, but its taxonomic status is still unclear. Its closest relative is Dudleya cymosa subsp. paniculata, which is a morphologically similar sister taxon.
Dudleya candelabrum is a succulent plant known by the common name Candleholder liveforever. This Dudleya is endemic to California, where it grows wild only on the northern Channel Islands. It has been threatened by poachers shipping plants to South Korea.
Dudleya palmeri is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name Palmer's liveforever. This Dudleya is endemic to California where it grows along the coast. It is characterized by orange to red over yellow or pink flowers. It is a polyploid species that closely resembles Dudleya lanceolata but has a coastal habit, and hybridizes with Dudleya caespitosa and Dudleya cymosa.
Dudleya traskiae is a rare succulent plant known by the common name Santa Barbara Island liveforever. This Dudleya is endemic to Santa Barbara Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, where it grows on rocky bluffs. The plant has a basal rosette of flat, spade-shaped fleshy leaves up to 15 centimeters long, which are pale green to yellowish. It erects tall stems bearing dense, rounded inflorescences of many bright yellow flowers.
Dudleya greenei is a perennial species of succulent plant known by the common names Greene's liveforever, or Greene's dudleya. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it grows along the cliffs of four of the eight islands. It is a highly variable plant, presenting with multiple forms and varying levels of ploidy. Taxonomically, this species is an insular segregate of Dudleya caespitosa, and was placed as a stopgap taxon by Reid Moran in his 1951 thesis on the genus. It is characterized by white or green leaf rosettes, loomed over by inflorescences bearing pale yellow to white flowers. It is a member of the subgenus Dudleya, as it cannot be propagated from leaf cuttings, does not grow from a corm, and has tight petals.
Dudleya verityi is a rare species of succulent plant known by the common name Verity's liveforever. It is endemic to Ventura County, California, where it is known from only three occurrences in the vicinity of Conejo Mountain between Camarillo and Thousand Oaks. It probably occurs in a few additional locations nearby which have not yet been officially vouchered.
Dudleya gnoma is a rare species of succulent plant in the stonecrop family known by the common names munchkin liveforever and munchkin dudleya. It is endemic to Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, where it is known from one type locality containing about 3200 plants.
Dudleya guadalupensis is a very rare species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the Guadalupe liveforever. It is a rosette-forming leaf succulent, with foliage that is variously colored light green, green, and a waxy white. It is characterized by dense leaves that fold over the center in dormancy, a curving, sinuous flower stalk, and white, cup-shaped flowers. It is endemic to the rocks and islets off of Guadalupe Island, an isolated volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean located 241 kilometers off of the coast of Baja California.
Dudleya pachyphytum is an insular succulent plant known by the common name Cedros Island liveforever. It is a member of the genus Dudleya, in the family Crassulaceae. Characterized by thick leaves covered in a white, powdery wax and adorned by white flowers in bloom, it is regarded as one of the most attractive and charismatic members of its genus. It is endemic to the foggy northern end of Cedros Island, occupying an ecological niche shared with the Cedros Island Pine.
Dudleya formosa, known by the common name La Misión liveforever, is a species of perennial succulent plant endemic to the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California. It is characterized by bright green leaves, red floral stems, and pink flowers.
Dudleya nubigena is a species of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae. It is a rosette forming perennial with flattish leaves. Endemic to southern Baja California Sur, the species is found in the Sierra de la Laguna and the surrounding lowlands, and on Cerralvo Island.
Dudleya cymosa subsp. paniculata, known by the common name Diablo Range dudleya, is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae native to the Inner South Coast Range of California. It is characterized by pale yellowish flowers, oblong to oblanceolate leaves and a growth habit not limited to a single substrate. It is closely related to Dudleya abramsii subsp. setchellii.
Dudleya cymosasubsp. costatifolia, known commonly as the Pierpoint Springs dudleya or the Pierpoint Springs liveforever, is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae, narrowly endemic to a locality in Tulare County, California, United States. It is a clumping plant with small rosettes and bright yellow flowers, resembling alpine "cushion plants."
Dudleya cymosasubsp. pumila, most commonly known as the low canyon dudleya, chalky canyon dudleya or California live-forever, is a species of perennial succulent plant. It has diamond to spoon shaped leaves, sometimes coated with a fine white powder, and in May through July, bright red, orange or yellow flowers adorn the short inflorescence. A leaf succulent primarily found growing in rocky cliffs and slopes, it is endemic to California, and grows in the Transverse Ranges and South Coast Ranges, with some outlying populations. A variable plant, in some localities it is difficult to distinguish from other plants in the genus.
Dudleya saxosasubsp. aloides is a species of perennial succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names desert dudleya or desert savior. It is a rosette-forming species widely distributed throughout the Peninsular Ranges and desert mountains of California in the United States. It is characterized by bright-yellow or greenish-yellow flowers, and can be found in shaded crevices and slopes. Plants in western half of the range may grade into Dudleya lanceolata.
Dudleya cymosasubsp. cymosa is a species of succulent perennial plant in the family Crassulaceae native to California. It is the autonymous subspecies for Dudleya cymosa, and is known by the common name canyon liveforever. It is native to the California Coast Ranges, the Sierra Nevada and the Santa Monica Mountains. It is characterized by bright-yellow, orange or red flowers and broad, wide leaves. This plant is commonly found growing on rocky outcrops, talus slopes, and in shaded canyons.
Dudleya saxosasubsp. saxosa is a species of succulent perennial plant endemic only to the western Panamint Range of California. It is known commonly as the Panamint liveforever or Panamint dudleya. It is found on north-facing, granitic or limestone slopes and grows up to 20 cm wide. It is characterized by bright yellow, red tinged flowers, which bloom from May to June.
Dudleya cymosa subsp. marcescens is a species of summer-deciduous succulent plant known commonly as the marcescent dudleya or marcescent liveforever. Throughout the months of spring, it is characterized by a bloom of small, bright-yellow flowers with 5 petals, tinged with orange or red. It is a leaf succulent with a basal rosette, with the foliage withering in summer, going completely leafless, a neotenous trait in the genus. This species is endemic to the exposed volcanic rock of the Santa Monica Mountains in California, being found on shady slopes and outcroppings. It differs from its local congeners with its deciduous habit, slender caudex, and narrower leaf shape, although it is superseded in some of these characteristics by Dudleya parva, growing 13 km to the north, which has even narrower leaves and is quicker to lose them. Because of its restricted distribution and small size, it is vulnerable to habitat degradation and disturbance from acts of graffiti and rock climbers. It is listed as threatened by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Dudleya virens subsp. extima is a subspecies of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae commonly known as the Guadalupe green liveforever. It is a rosette-forming leaf succulent, with both green and white waxy foliage. It has white flowers with spreading petals that bloom from May to June. It is a somewhat small plant, continuing a southward trend of decreasing size relative to other Dudleya virens subspecies. This species is endemic to Guadalupe Island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which is 241 kilometers off of the Baja California coast. It is a very rare species, with this plant only surviving on sheer cliff faces and canyons, out of the reach of the former feral goat population rampant on the island. It closely resembles a miniature version of Dudleya virens subsp. virens, but it may be more nearly related to the local Dudleya guadalupensis.
