| Gasteria excelsa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fully-grown specimen in cultivation in Cape Town. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Gasteria |
| Species: | G. excelsa |
| Binomial name | |
| Gasteria excelsa | |
Gasteria excelsa ("Thicket Gasteria") is a succulent plant, native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
It is one of the largest of the Gasteria species, second only to Gasteria acinacifolia in height. It has smoother, thicker, wider, darker leaves than its relative, and forms solitary, robust rosettes of stiff, sharp, triangular leaves.
It can be distinguished from its closest relatives by the unusually sharp, heavily serrated, white margins on their leaves. The leaves are a distinctive mottled, dark green colour, with a smooth surface (though juvenile plants' leaves are rough). The leaves of fully grown plants are often channeled on the upper side, with sharp edges, and (like its relatives) a keel on their lower side.
The erectly branched inflorescence is often over a meter in height, with pink-green flowers and appears between November and February. The specific epithet, excelsa, means "lofty" or "high" in Latin. It refers both to the great height of the plant's inflorescence, as well as to the high cliff-face habitat of this species. [1]
They are popular as ornamental plants for containers, but have a very large root system.
This species is indigenous to the Eastern Cape, South Africa, where it is widely distributed in the thicket vegetation of the Transkei - both inland and near to the rocky coast. It occurs from Grahamstown in the west to as far north as Cala. Its favoured habitat is dense shady thicket, rocky south-facing sheer cliffs and slopes. It has been recorded at 1500 meters in the southern Drakensberg mountains, at a greater elevation than any other Gasteria species.
This is a variable species, with many forms and varieties. Like most Gasteria species, it also grades into related species, sometimes with a smooth range of intermediates. A few forms have become popular in cultivation:
In the north along the Mzimvubu river, a transitional form, between Gasteria excelsa and its northern neighbour Gasteria croucheri , is now considered to be a separate transitional species, Gasteria loedolffiae , with some features of both G. excelsa and G. croucheri. Physically it resembles G. croucheri (although with a more dull matt green colour and young plants are more asperulous than tubercled) while its flowers more closely resemble those of G. excelsa. [2] [3]
Haworthia is a large genus of small succulent plants endemic to Southern Africa (Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa).
Gasteria is a genus of succulent plants, native to South Africa and the far south-west corner of Namibia.
Eucomis comosa, the pineapple flower, pineapple lily or wine eucomis, is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family Asparagaceae. A deciduous bulbous perennial used as an ornamental plant, it is endemic to South Africa. The white to purple flowers appear in summer and are arranged in a spike (raceme), topped by a "head" of green leaflike bracts.
Aloe ferox, commonly known as bitter aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. This woody aloe is indigenous to southern Africa. It is one of several Aloe species used to make bitter aloes, a purgative medication, and also yields a non-bitter gel that can be used in cosmetics.
Gasteria armstrongii is a dwarf succulent plant native to South Africa, in the genus Gasteria.
Haworthia magnifica is a species of the genus Haworthia belonging to the family Asphodelaceae.
Haworthia mirabilis is a species of the genus Haworthia belonging to the family Asphodelaceae.
Aloe pluridens is an arborescent aloe indigenous to southern Africa.
Aloe rupestris is an arborescent aloe indigenous to summer-rainfall areas of southern Africa.
Gasteria acinacifolia is succulent plant native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Gasteria rawlinsonii is succulent plant of the genus Gasteria native to South Africa.
Gasteria bicolor is a species of succulent flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae, native to the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria nitida, the Bathurst gasteria, is a succulent plant, native to the Eastern Cape grasslands of South Africa.
Gasteria batesiana is a species of succulent plant, native to the inland escarpment in the far north-east of South Africa.
Gasteria carinata is a small and variable succulent plant, native to the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Gasteria croucheri is a succulent plant, native to KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Gasteria tukhelensis is a species of succulent plant, native to the Tugela River valley, in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Gasteria baylissiana, Suurberg gasteria, is a species of succulent flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae, native to the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria glauca, the Kouga gasteria, is a succulent plant, native to the cliffs above the Kouga river, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria polita, the polished gasteria, is a recently discovered succulent plant, restricted to a locality in the Afro-temperate forest of the Western Cape, South Africa.
