Dudleya edulis (Fingertips)

Fingertips—aptly named—are native to southern California and northern Baja California.

Plants: These perennial succulents have evolved to extract moisture from coastal marine fogs. They are salt-tolerant. They form rosettes of 15-25 leaves, 1¾–4″ (5–10 cm) in diameter.

Leaves: Leaves are thick, fleshy, and erect, resembling fingers. Each leaf is pale green and cylindical, 3–8″ tall ⨉ ⅛–¼″ around (8–20 cm ⨉ 3–9 mm), with pointed tips. Leaves are often tipped or splotched with red.

Flowers: A stalked, 2-15 branched inflorescence is 4–20″ (10–50 cm) tall. Each of its several branches has 3-12 white star-shaped flowers, each about ⅜″ (1 cm) in diameter. They appear from May to July.

Edibility: Leaves are considered a delicacy. Stems are slightly sweet, though chalky tasting.

2/26/2010 · Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, La Jolla, California · ≈ 13 × 9″ (33 × 22 cm)

2/26/2010 · Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, La Jolla, California · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 16 cm)

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Rosales	Rose family and eight others
Family	Crassulaceae	Succulents that store water in leaves
Genus	Dudleya	Named for William Russel Dudley (1849-1911), first professor of botany and head of the Botany Department at Stanford University
Species	edulis	Edible, referring here to the leaves and stems

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Range: Zones 7-10:

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