[6][7][8] This plant is characterized by its distinctive appearance that stands in stark contrast to other Dudleya, as it has extremely thick, blunt, turgid leaves and a pale, desaturated inflorescence.

[13] Dudleya pachyphytum was discovered by Michael Benedict, a research associate at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, during a trip to Cedros Island in 1971.

Benedict found an uprooted rosette in a ravine known as Cañada de la Mina,[b] near the Punta Norte lighthouse on the northern end of the island.

[16] Finally, after the suggestion of Lau, Benedict, Reid Moran, and their colleagues returned to Cedros Island in 1980, describing and publishing the species Dudleya pachyphytum in Phytologia.

[3] The succulent occupies an ecological niche at the northern end of Cedros Island, where the predominantly arid foliage gives away to pines, lichen, and D. pachyphytum, fed by the moisture brought by the marine fog.

Below the pine forest, in the sea cliffs and weathered slopes, among the scree of frequent rockfall, D. pachyphytum forms an association with Bahiopsis lanata, a member of the family Asteraceae.

As noted by one of the describers of the species, Reid Moran, one of the reasons D. pachyphytum may be so successful on the talus slopes is because of their ability to roll in the event of disturbance, eventually re-rooting after they land in a suitable position.

[2] Although in the late 20th century the population of Dudleya pachyphytum was thought to be growing, as the range was expanding towards the south, [2] anthropogenic factors, primarily owing to poaching and demand from foreign succulent collectors, have been detrimental for the future of the plant.

Accessing the habitat D. pachyphytum grows in is difficult, as the northern part of the island consists of steep, narrow mountains with peaks up to 3,400 ft (1,000 m) high, with the slopes covered in spiny cacti and agaves.

[15][21] Demand for D. pachyphytum is primarily motivated by international consumers, often succulent collectors and enthusiasts, mostly based in East Asia, particularly South Korea and China.

[22][4] In 2016, South Korean nationals began moving to Bahía Tortugas, on the coast of Baja California Sur, to facilitate the poaching of the plants via a network of paid operatives.

[5] In 2017, Mexican authorities from the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), and the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) stopped a theft of nearly 4,756 rosettes of D. pachyphytum.

[24] In November 2018, seven fishermen from Bahía Tortugas in Baja California Sur were reported missing, after a trip to Cedros Island, 36 mi (58 km) away.

The Mexican Navy initiated a search and rescue operation after the Mulegé delegate relayed the case of the missing fishermen, sending a patrol and a King Air 350 surveillance aircraft.

[25] Soon after, a member of the Guardia Estatal de Seguridad e Investigación of Baja California discovered the injured 29 year-old Cristóbal Emmanuel Arce Carranza, with gunshot wounds to his arms, who stated he had arrived at Punta Norte to poach D. pachyphytum for sale in the Asian market.

Six days later, the corpse of the final member of the group, 32 year-old Iván Josué García Guzmán, was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition with his hands tied.

[6] The commander of the Second Naval Region, Admiral Jorge Luis Cruz Ballado, concluded that the deaths were not the result of a shipwreck, but of an attack of the men collecting the plant by armed assailants.