The plant has a basal rosette of flat, spade-shaped fleshy leaves up to 15 centimeters long, which are pale green to yellowish.

It erects tall stems bearing dense, rounded inflorescences of many bright yellow flowers.

The petals (5) are bright yellow, often with red veins, fused below and curving outward in the upper half.

[5] This species was originally placed into the genus Stylophyllum during Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose's revision of North American Crassulaceae.

[1] Subsequent taxonomic work by Reid Moran would place Stylophyllum as a subgenus of Dudleya.

[1] The original spelling traskae is corrected according to the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants as of 2011[update], article 60.

[7] All of the known sites supporting Dudleya traskiae are in rocky areas on the steep slopes of the island's perimeter or on outcrops within shallow canyons where vegetation is low-growing.

This assemblage of plants, characterized by cholla (Cylindropuntia prolifera), prickly pear (O. oricola and O. littoralis), boxthorn (Lycium californicum), Santa Barbara Island buckwheat (Eriogonum giganteum ssp.

compactum) and annual forbs and grasses, is restricted to the perimeter of the island and south-facing slopes of the canyons.

The goats were followed by other introduced species, including cats, sheep, New Zealand red rabbits, and Belgian hares.

[7] Other threats include damage from the activity of nesting brown pelicans, erosion, and introduced plant species.

Status of the endangered and rare plants on Santa Barbara Island Channel Islands National Park Endangered Plant Program, Natural Heritage Division, California Department of Fish and Game, a public domain resource: [1] Archived 2008-04-14 at the Wayback Machine