Dudleya gnoma
Dudleya gnoma is a tiny, rare succulent in the stonecrop family, commonly called munchkin liveforever or munchkin dudleya. It grows only on the eastern side of Santa Rosa Island, California, in a single population that includes three groups of plants. The species is considered Critically Imperiled.
Description and habitat
Dudleya gnoma forms a compact plant with a short stem and clumps of white, waxy rosettes. Each rosette holds up to about 20 small triangular leaves. The plant can reach about 10 cm (4 inches) across. It produces an inflorescence (flower stalk) 2.5–13 cm tall with up to 10 small yellow flowers blooming from May to June. The leaves are 0.5–1.3 cm long and 0.6–2.5 cm wide, and the petals are about 8–9 mm long. This species grows on shallow soils in flat rocky areas on Santa Rosa Island, where a fence helps protect it from grazing cattle, though deer and other threats remain.
Conservation status and threats
Dudleya gnoma is very rare and faces several threats, including a limited gene pool, drought, and the risk that a single bad event could wipe out its entire population. It is also at risk from plant poaching. The plant is kept in cultivation by succulent enthusiasts and has a popular cultivar known as “White Sprite,” but growing it in the garden can be difficult, and overwatering in summer can harm or kill it.
Taxonomy and how it was identified
The plant was once thought to be a form of Dudleya greenei. In 1997, botanist Stephen W. McCabe gave it the proper name Dudleya gnoma after distinguishing it from D. greenei. It is related to other Dudleya species but differs in size, leaf shape (triangular leaves), smaller flowers and bracts, and its flat, shallow-soil habitat versus the cliffside habitat of its relative.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:34 (CET).