Haworthia glauca

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

Haworthia glauca is a species of flowering succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Description

The thin-stemmed jonesiae variety
The tubercles herrei variety
Detail of rosette of a young specimen with slightly in-curved leaves

H. glauca typically has pointed, light blue succulent leaves ("glauca" = "blue"), which are packed densely along its stems. The stems branch from the base, and the plant can form clumps.

The leaves of this variable species are sometimes incurved, sometimes vertical & erect, and sometimes spreading. In some varieties, the leaves have slight tubercles.

Among the more common varieties are var. herrei (with tubercles) and the gracile var. jonesiae (with pencil-thin stems).

Taxonomy

Within the genus Haworthia, the species forms part of the subgenus Hexangulares.

Recent phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that subgenus Hexangulares is actually relatively unrelated to other Haworthias (being more closely related to Gasterias. It will therefore comprise a new, separate genus, Haworthiopsis, and this species will accordingly become "Haworthiopsis glaucus".[1][2]

Distribution

This species extends across the western part of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It can be found as far south as the vicinity of Port Elizabeth and westwards as far as Paardepoort near the border between the Western & Eastern Cape provinces.

Within this range, it typically grows in very well-drained sandy soil, either in direct sunlight, or under a bush or rocks which serve as partial protection from the sun.

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References

  1. ↑ Manning, John; Boatwright, James S.; Daru, Barnabas H.; Maurin, Olivier; van der Bank, Michelle. A Molecular Phylogeny and Generic Classification of Asphodelaceae subfamily Alooideae: A Final Resolution of the Prickly Issue of Polyphyly in the Alooids? Systematic Botany, Volume 39, Number 1, March 2014, pp. 55-74
  2. ↑ http://www.haworthia.org.uk/haworthia.htm


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