knife-leaved liveforever

Like most other evergreen Dudleya, this species grows as a leaf succulent with a basal rosette of leaves on top of a caudex. This species branches dichotomously, giving multiple rosettes in orders of 2. This species has noticeably less leaves than the coastal form of Dudleya ingens, having only up to 25 leaves, and is similar in appearance to the inland form of Dudleya ingens. The leaves are green, and lack any glaucousness or wax. The flowering stalks may be up to 40 cm (16 in) tall, and are colored reddish or greenish. The flowers have pale-yellow to yellow petals that appear from April to June. Like other members of the subgenus Dudleya, the petals are connate, forming a tube.

Morphology. The caudex ranges from 2–4 cm (0.79–1.57 in) in thickness, and elongate to 20 cm (7.9 in) long, branching to form clusters of up to 10 rosettes. The rosettes themselves are 3–8 cm (1.2–3.1 in) in diameter, with about 20–30 leaves. The leaves are shaped oblong, with the sides parallel or tapering from the base. The leaves measure 5–13 cm (2.0–5.1 in) in length, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) in width, and are 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) thick, flat on the upper surface but convex on the lower surface. The margins are acute in the lower fourth of the leaf, but rounded above, the apex sub-terete. …

Dudleya cultrata is typically found abundantly on the coast around San Quintin Bay in Baja California, and also on San Martin Island. Its northern range is near Colonet, and it can be found south in the El Rosario coast as well. On San Martin, D. cultrata hybridizes with D. anthonyi.