Scientific Name

Dudleya cymosa

Full Sun

Part Sun

Part Shade

Low

Max. Height × Width

3 × 4 inches (rosette)

More information

calscape.org

Price & Availability


Currently not available.

If you’ve ever been hiking in the hills surrounding Los Angeles, you’ve probably seen Canyon Dudleya growing in the crevices of sheer, rocky cliffs. One of only a few succulents truly native to this part of Southern California, Canyon Dudleya undergoes a striking transformation depending on what time of year it is. In the winter and spring, its spiky leaves are plump, green and fleshy. In late spring, it sends up tall, thin stalks from its squat rosettes, each bearing clusters of bell-shaped, orange-yellow, waxy flowers beloved by hummingbirds. In the summer, the plant goes fully dormant without supplemental water, shriveling up to almost nothing, but it quickly resuscitates after a good storm or two in the fall.

Propagated from seed gathered in the LANPS garden, our Canyon Dudleyas come in 4” pots, perfect for planting in containers (in which case they will need periodic watering over the summer) or popping into the narrow spaces in between rocks. It’s happiest in dappled light to part sun and prefers a little afternoon shade. Like all Dudleyas, excellent drainage is a must. Canyon Dudleya will gradually multiply and looks quite at home when planted with some of its natural companions in the wild, such as Southern Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus longiflorus) and Cardinal Catchfly (Silene laciniata).

Obsessive Botanist Alert: It has come to my attention that our Dudleya cymosa may indeed be Dudleya cymosa ssp. pumila or some weird-ass variation thereof. (It might even include a dash of Dudleya lanceolata!) Apparently, Dudleyas hybridize like crazy, rendering their precise identification a challenge even for serious Dudleya nerds. Who knew?

Drawing of plant with berries

Bitter Gooseberry

Ribes amarum

flowers

Blue Dicks

Dipterostemon (Dichelostemma) capitatus

Drawing of plant with berries

Blue Elderberry

Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea

Blue Wildrye

Elymus glaucus

Branching Phacelia

Phacelia ramosissima

Brickell Bush

Brickellia californica

California Aster

Corethrogyne filaginifolia

California Aster

Corethrogyne filaginifolia

Drawing of plant

California Four O’Clock

Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia

California Fuchsia

Epilobium canum ssp. canum

California Prickly Phlox

Linanthus californicus

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Cardinal Catchfly

Silene laciniata

Caterpillar Phacelia

Phacelia cicutaria

Drawing of plant with acorn

Coast Live Oak

Quercus agrifolia

Coast Prickly Pear

Opuntia littoralis

Illustration of plant in planter

Coffeeberry

Frangula californica

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Fiesta Flower

Pholistoma auritum

Drawing of plant with handing flowers

Fuchsiaflower Gooseberry

Ribes speciosum

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Hollyleaf Redberry

Rhamnus ilicifolia

Longstem Buckwheat

Eriogonum elongatum

Drawing of plant with feathery flowers

Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus betuloides

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Poison Oak

Toxicodendron diversilobum

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Punch Bowl Godetia

Clarkia bottae

Rooreh

Claytonia perfoliata

Drawing of plant

Round Leafed Boykinia

Boykinia rotundifolia

Sacred Datura

Datura wrightii

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Santa Barbara Honeysuckle

Lonicera subspicata var. denudata

Illustration of plant in planter

Saw-Toothed Goldenbush

Hazardia squarrosa var. grindelioides

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Scarlet Larkspur

Delphinium cardinale

Silver Puffs

Uropappus lindleyi

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Soap Plant

Chloroglaum pomeridianum

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Southern Bush Monkeyflower

Diplacus longiflorus

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Southern California Black Walnut

Juglans californica

Drawing of plant with spotted flowers

Spotted Humboldt’s Lily

Lilium humboldtii ssp. ocellatum

Sunflower

Helianthus annuus

Threadleaf Ragwort

Senecio flaccidus

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Toyon

Heteromeles arbutifolia

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Western Columbine

Aquilegia formosa

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Western Wallflower

Erysimum capitatum

Wild Heliotrope