Photo by Ken Ekelund.
Dudleya. If you know the location, please do not reveal. As many of you know, these have been subject to poaching up and down the CA and OR coast by visitors who then ship thousands overseas for profit. Take photos, not plants.
You can find more of her photographs here: https://dellahuff.smugmug.com/Big-Sur
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Beautiful shots. Interesting that yours bloom an orange color, while ours are a bright sunny yellow.
I believe that is actually a variety of kalanchloe which is naturalizing along the coast. Dudylea is more of a low growing rosette where kalanchloe is more upright.
Yes, a dudleya expert from UCSC contacted me and said it was a naturalized South African native, I think it was...or South American ... Southern Hemisphere, anyway...
These plants are sometimes called 'Pig's Ears' (Cotyledon orbiculata). It is from coastal areas of South Africa, where growing conditions are very similar to those here on the Central Coast. Many varieties of this plant have been introduced to California as ornamentals. Unfortunately, all types of this plant readily escape from gardens and into the wild, where they can completely replace native coastal bluff vegetation, such as Dudleya. This picture is a good example of the extreme invasiveness of Pig's Ears locally.
Thank you, Sarah.