A member of the genus Dudleya, this species is characterized by long, red flowers that adorn a waxy rosette of succulent leaves.

Native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, it is widespread in range, but is primarily found in scattered, widely separated localities.

[3][4] The peduncle is 15 to 60 cm in height, 2 to 6 mm thick, with 30 to 45 close-set bracts ascending in a spiral fashion around the floral stem.

[3] In the United States, it is found throughout central and western Arizona, the desert southwest of California up into the eastern face of the Peninsular Ranges, southern Nevada, and reaching a disjunct population in the Beaver Dam Mountains of Utah.

In Sonora, it exists on the desert coast from the Colorado River delta and Puerto Peñasco to just north of Tiburón Island.