The Succulent Plant Page goes to
Families of Succulent Plants goes to Crassulaceae goes to

The Dudleya Page

 Search this site:        
Botanical BookmarksBotanical Glossary SITEMAP Email: webmaster

 

Dudleya   Britton & Rose 1903
Named for: Prof. W.R. Dudley, 19th c. botanist at Stanford University

Dudleya is a genus of more than 50 small rosetted succulent plants native to Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Baja California, Mexico and coastal islands and possibly extending into S. America. Dudleyas have to be propagated from offsets or seed as individual leaf cuttings will not root and grow into new plants.
 
Despite the similar appearance of Dudleya and Echeveria and overlap in their geographical distribution, molecular analysis suggests that the genus Dudleya is closer to Sedum. The former genera Hasseanthus and Stylophyllum have been incorporated as subgenera of Dudleya.

Dudleya brittonii, RBG Kew Dudleya brittonii, RBG Kew

Dudleya brittonii  Johansen 1933
The large, usually-solitary rosette of 40 - 120 lanceolate leaves has a glaucous white surface. All-green forms are known. The inflorescence is a cluster of yellow flowers on a long, pinkish stem with numerous pink bracts.
 
Native to coastal Baja California and coastal islands.
Dudleya edulis, RBG Kew

Dudleya edulis  Moran 1943
The rosettes are formed from many light green cylindrical leaves whose farinose coating is easily washed away. The inflorescence is an open cluster of pale yellow flowers.
 
Native to coastal California and Baja California.

Dudleya farinosa green form, RBG Kew Dudleya farinosa, RBG Kew

Dudleya farinosa  Britton & Rose 1903
The elongated, branching stems carry rosettes of strongly pointed ovate, farinose or green leaves. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of pale yellow flowers.
 
Native to coastal South-West Oregon and Northern California. Both green and white farinose forms can be found naturally growing together.

Dudleya sp.

Dudleya lanceolata  Britton & Rose 1903
A species with narrow, lance-shaped leaves.
 
Photographed in Southern California South of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Dudleya pulverulenta

Dudleya pulverulenta  Britton & Rose 1903
These large, silvery rosettes are formed from many (40-60) farinose oblong leaves, some with pointed ends.
 
Seen in the Santa Monica Mountains, California.
Photo: Nikki Thompson Los Angeles.

Dudleya hassei, RBG Kew

Dudleya virens  Moran 1943  includes four subspecies from coastal California and Baja California.
 
Dudleya virens ssp. hassei  Moran 1995  Syn. D. hassei Moran 1957
The thickened branching stems carry rosettes of narrow, flattened glaucous green leaves. The inflorescence is an open cluster of yellow flowers on a long greyish stem.
 
Native to coastal rocky slopes of Santa Catalina Island, California.

Dudleya sp., S. California

Dudleya sp. A species with spectacularly large 6 in diameter rosettes, colouring up attractively where they are in full sun.
 
Photographed in Southern California just South of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The rosettes appear to occupy a narrow horizontal band along the mountain side as though climatic conditions suit them at that particular elevation.

Cultivation

Dudleyas are insufficiently hardy to survive a cold, wet winter, but they can be housed under glass for the winter where they only need to be frost-free.
 
As with many succulent plants, a sunny position is needed to obtain an attractive compact rosettte and for the leaves of some cultivars to colour up. However, most species are happy with cool but frost-free winter conditions. In a poor light the plant will quickly become soft and etiolated and prone to fungal damping off. Remove dead basal leaves from rosettes to reduce the risk of fungal attack.
 
Dudleyas have to be propagated from offsets or seed as individual leaf cuttings will not root and grow into new plants. The rosettes can usually be re-rooted very easily. If the stem below the rosette becomes long and unsightly it is a simple matter to cut it off an inch or so below the rosette and re-root.
 
Cultivars with white farinose leaves should not be watered from above if growing for show. The slightest touch will mark the farina, spoiling the result of years of cultivation. Mealy bug is the main pest and can be avoided by watering with systemic insecticides containing imidacloprid.


Succulent Plant Page Botanical Bookmarks SITE MAP Email: webmaster
fire This page is © copyright R.J. Hodgkiss 2012
  Last update: 20th February 2012
 Streamline.Net The home of good value web hosting Valid HTML 4.01! Valid CSS!