Haworthia attenuata

Haworthia attenuata
Haworthia attenuata in culture.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Xanthorrhoeaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Haworthia
Species:	H. attenuata
Binomial name
Haworthia attenuata

Haworthia attenuata (commonly known as the "Zebra Haworthia") is a small species of succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. As an ornamental, it is one of the most commonly cultivated of the Haworthia species.

Description

It is an evergreen succulent plant with short leaves arranged in rosettes 6-12 cm in diameter. The succulent leaves are tapered ("attenuata" means "tapering") and have bands of white tubercles on them. The species subdivides and offsets readily; in the wild it forms large clumps. It is popular as a house plant, due to its resistance to drought and general hardiness.

It is frequently confused with the rarer Haworthia fasciata, to which it looks very similar. However Haworthia attenuata can easily be distinguished by its white tubercles, which occur on both upper and lower sides of its leaves (H.fasciata has tubercles only on the underside, with a smooth upper surface of its leaves). The leaves of H.attenuata are also longer and thinner, and not fibrous.^[1]

The flowers appear in November and December.

Varieties

It is a variable species, and has several subspecies, including the "type" variety Haworthia attenuata var. attenuata. Another common variety is Haworthia attenuata var. radula (previously considered a separate species) which has longer, more elongated, scabrid leaves with smaller, more numerous tubercles. The form clariperla has its tubercles connected into large white "bands" across the underside of its leaves, and variety britteniana has especially big and separate white tubercles.

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  var. Radula

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  var. Clariperla

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  var. Brittenae / Britteniana

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  var. Glabrata

The variety Haworthia attenuata var. glabrata is frequently considered a separate species, Haworthia glabrata.

References

1. Haworthia attenuata - Information page at Haworthia-Gasteria