Dudleya, commonly known as liveforevers is a genus of rosette-forming succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in many forms, some large and evergreen, others geophytic and deciduous. Yet, despite their dramatic variations in appearance, most species readily hybridize. The flowers of Dudleya have parts numbered in fives, with the petals arranged in tubular, star-shaped, and bell-shaped forms and, when fruiting, are filled with tiny, ovoid-crescent-shaped seeds.
Dudleya abramsiisubsp. setchellii, known by common name as 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 3 February 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 cymosa is a species complex of evergreen and deciduous succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae known by the common name: canyon liveforever. It is a loosely defined polyphyletic species with a diverse number of subspecies, varying highly in morphology, distribution, and habitat.
Dudleya blochmaniae is a summer-deciduous succulent plant known by the common names Blochman's liveforever or Blochman's dudleya. This species of Dudleya survives part of the year with no aboveground presence, surviving as underground corm-like roots in deciduous months. It is characterized by white, star-shaped and spreading flowers that emerge after sufficient rainfall. It is found along the Pacific coast of the California Floristic Province, from the vicinity of San Luis Obispo in California to Punta Colonet in Baja California.
Dudleya abramsiisubsp.calcicola is a succulent plant known by the common name limestone liveforever, or limestone dudleya. It is endemic to California, where it is a rare resident of limestone outcroppings and rocky slopes in the southern Sierra Nevada and nearby mountains and foothills. It was formerly regarded as Dudleya calcicola.
Dudleya densiflora is a species of succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known commonly as the San Gabriel Mountains liveforever or San Gabriel Mountains dudleya. A very rare plant confined to the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, California, it is known only from three to five spots in the mountain range, with an estimated 1,700 individual plants remaining. Growing in the cracks of the granite slopes of three canyons in this single mountain range, it is threatened by human activity such as rock quarrying and off-trail recreation.
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 pulverulenta is a species of perennial succulent plant known by the common names chalk lettuce, chalk dudleya, and chalk liveforever. It is one of the largest Dudleya, with a silvery, waxy rosette that may greatly contrast with its habitat. It is also regarded as one of the most distinctive members of the Dudleya, with one of the most specialized inflorescences in the genus, adapted to hummingbird pollination through its red pendent flowers, the longest corolla, and the highest nectar output. Dudleya pulverulenta has the largest range of all Dudleya, over 1,000 kilometres (620 mi), being found from southern Monterey County in California to the Sierra de San Borja in southern Baja California. It is closely related to Dudleya arizonica, a smaller desert species that tends to lack the specialized floral traits, and Dudleya anthonyi, which differs in a few morphological traits and is restricted to the San Quintín Volcanic Field.
Dudleya stolonifera is a succulent plant known by the common name Laguna Beach liveforever or Laguna Beach dudleya. This is a rare plant which is endemic to the coastline of Orange County, California. It is known from only about six populations in the vicinity of Laguna Beach, totaling about 30,000 individuals. It is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States.
Dudleya brevifolia, is a rare succulent plant known by the common name short-leaved liveforever, short-leaved dudleya or rarely the Del Mar Hasseanthus. It is an edaphic endemic that only grows on Lindavista formation marine terraces, on surfaces with ironstone nodules. The leaves are deciduous, and disappear after the inflorescence develops. The small white flowers are star-shaped with a yellow center. After flowering, any above ground trace of the plant will disappear, and it survives under the earth with a starch-rich subterranean caudex. Dudleya brevifolia is only found on coastal mesas along a small strip of coast in San Diego County, California.
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 abramsii is a species complex of succulent plants native to California and parts of Baja California. There are numerous subspecies, some critically endangered, with varying habits and lifestyles, but most often characterized by a smaller size, yellow flowers, and an affinity for rocky habitats. The subspecies may be polyphyletic.
Dudleya variegata is a deciduous succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae known by the common names variegated liveforever, variegated dudleya or rarely San Diego Hasseanthus. A cryptic plant that survives part of the year dormant underground from starch reserves in a corm, after sufficient rainfall, leaves will emerge, soon giving way to small inflorescences with yellow star-shaped flowers. It is native to Baja California and adjacent San Diego County in California, where it grows in several habitat types, including chaparral and vernal pools.
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 characterized by its diminutive stature, small yellow flowers, and distinctive white rosettes. It is endemic to the eastern portion of Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands of California, where it is known from one population at the type locality, containing three colonies of plants.
Dudleya hendrixii is a species of succulent plant known by the common name Hendrix's liveforever. It is a rare endemic restricted to undisturbed habitat near in the vicinity of Punta Colonet, Baja California, Mexico. The species is a small succulent that grows from an underground stem, producing small flowers in late spring to early summer before becoming summer deciduous and dormant. It was discovered in late 2016 by researchers from San Diego State University and the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is named in honor of the late musician Jimi Hendrix.
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 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 cymosasubsp. agourensis, commonly known as the Agoura Hills dudleya or Agoura Hills liveforever, is a species of perennial succulent plant. A rare and critically imperiled species from the Santa Monica Mountains in California, it is characterized by glaucous, gray-purple leaves, bright yellow flowers, and ascending bracts. A leaf succulent, it is found growing on west to northwest-facing open, rocky volcanic slopes.
