Dudleya is a genus of the succulent perennials belonging to the crassulaeae family. Native to the West Coast of North America, the genus is named after American botanist William Russell Dudley. He contributed to a vast knowledge of the California flora as head of the botany department at Stanford University from 1892 to 1911.
According to the Pacific Horticulture Society, only approximately forty species of dudleya plants are readily available for horticulture use. Many of these are California natives such as Dudleya Britonnii (no, it’s not a British dudleya, the epithet honors American botanist and taxonomist Dr. Nathaniel Lord Britton), Dudleya Candelabrum, Dudleya Cymosa, Dudleya Pulverulenta, and Dudleya Virens subsp. Hassei. Especially our very own within the coastal sage scrub and chaparral of Orange County, Dudleya Stolonifera makes its home in the steep cliffs of the Laguna Beach canyons. Referred to as the Laguna Beach liveforever is among the many endangered species protected by California law. But it was the red freckles, red tips, white farina in the summer, and glaucous leaves of the Baja native Dudleya Britonnii that captured my interest and my sole motivation for gardening with succulents and California friendly flora.
As a California native plant for the garden, the best part about dudleya succulents is that they thrive on neglect. The very high reflectance of ultraviolet radiation found on the glaucous leaves of D. Brittonii makes it ideal for non-irrigated coastal landscapes as they can survive on rainfall alone. Like most drought tolerant natives, dudleya plants go into a self-induced dormancy cycle during the summer. During this period, they should be watered lightly or not at all. Cold weather and rain brings them out of dormancy in the winter. For more information about dudleya or California flora visit www.pacifichorticulture.org
References:
Beacham, Walton. Beacham’s Guide to the Endangered Species of North America. Farmington Hills: Gale Division of Cengage Learning Inc., 2001.
Carol, Bornstein, and Fross, David. “California Native Plants for the Garden: Dudleyas.” Pacific Horticulture (April 2006).