Fingertips, Dudleya edulis

About Fingertips (Dudleya edulis) 36 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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A succulent plant known by the common name Fingertips, Lady Fingers, and Dead Man's Fingers. This Dudleya is in the Subgenus Stylophyllum which features flowers held wide-open and is fly or bee pollinated. This plant is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in rocky sandstone soils of the coastal and inland areas. The fingertips are made up fleshy, snakelike leaves growing vertically from just below ground level. The finger-like leaves are pale green or yellow green, cylindrical and pointed, growing up to 8 inches tall. The tips of the fingers often turn orange or red during the summer. The plant bears a branching flower cluster with several terminal branches each bearing up to 10 or 11 flowers. The flowers have pointed white petals about 0.5 inch long.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Perennial herb, Succulent

Size

4.2 - 8 in tall
1 ft wide

Form

Fountain

Growth Rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, Pink, White

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

Hummingbirds
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Sonoran Blue Philotes sonorensisPhilotes sonorensis

Moss' Elfin Callophrys mossiiCallophrys mossii

Orange Tortrix Moth Argyrotaenia franciscanaArgyrotaenia franciscana

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 36

Ease of Care

Very Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 10° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

While it appears to be tolerant of a variety garden soils, it is found in the wild almost entirely in sandstone soils. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Groundcovers, Bird Gardens, Hummingbird Gardens

Companion Plants

California Fuchsia, California Box Thorn, Sea Dahlia, SeaCliff Buckwheat, various cactus species

Propagation?

Propagation by seed is difficult as the seeds are very fine and dust-like. For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Sunset Zones?

14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 19, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting

Site Type

Sandstone bluffs, marine terraces, rocky slopes, ledges, canyons and mesas on the coastal side of the mountains of San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties; especially common in close proximity to the coast

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 9.5" - 32.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 1.89", Coldest Month: 39.6" - 56.6", Hottest Month: 65.1" - 79.2", Humidity: 1.33" - 25.09", Elevation: 6" - 5231"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Dead Man's Fingers, Lady Fingers

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Fingertips

Dudleya edulis

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FingertipsDudleya edulis

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Fingertips

Dudleya edulis