Haworthia fasciata

Haworthia fasciata
Haworthia fasciata (variabilis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Haworthia
Species: H. fasciata
Binomial name
Haworthia fasciata
(Willd.) Haw.

Haworthia fasciata is a species of succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Rare in cultivation; most plants that are labelled as Haworthia fasciata are actually Haworthia attenuata.[1]

Description

Small specimen in cultivation showing the distinctively smooth inner surface of the leaves

The plants are generally small, less than 10 cm (4 in) high. The triangular shaped leaves are green with narrow white crested strips on the outside. At the end of the leaf is a non acute spine. The summer flowers appear in October and November, on the end of an inflorescence.

The species has similar markings to Haworthia attenuata, which is commonly grown as a house plant. The two are therefore frequently confused with each other, and a great many H.attenuata specimens are mislabelled as the rarer H.fasciata.

H. fasciata f. browniana
H. fasciata f. patensie

However Haworthia fasciata is rare in cultivation, and can easily be distinguished by the smooth upper (ie. inner) surfaces of its leaves. Its white tubercles occur only on the lower (outer) sides of its leaves; whereas H.attenuata has roughness or tubercles on both sides of its leaves. The leaves of H.fasciata are also stouter, more deltoid, and fibrous inside. They tend to curve inwards more. Unlike H.attenuata, older H.fasciata specimens also develop long columnal stems.[2][1][3][4]

Distribution

This species favours the acidic sands of the fynbos vegetation type, in the area near Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Varieties

References

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