The common name "fingertips" denotes the finger-like shape of the leaves; the specific epithet edulis (meaning "edible") refers to the Kumeyaay people's traditional foraging and consumption of the plant's young scapes.

Dudleya edulis is native to the dry, coastal cliffs and chaparral hills of Southern California and northern Baja California, where it has adapted to absorb as much moisture as possible from the nightly fog and marine layer which forms over the Pacific Ocean and gradually moves slightly inland, typically covering all plants and stationary objects in dew.

In addition to its inherent drought-tolerance and xeric qualities, this species is also highly salt-tolerant, as it grows almost exclusively facing the ocean, often in exposed settings where it is subjected to regular periods of extreme wind and weather.

The species may be found growing on rocky hillsides, sandstone sea cliffs, chaparral habitat, arid canyons, or rooted between exposed, bare rock crevices.

Dudleya edulis is made up of an array of fleshy, finger-like leaves growing vertically from a caudex at or just below ground level.

Willis L. Jepson once regarded the nearby Dudleya attenuata as a subspecies of this plant, owing to their similar morphology, although they are very distinct.