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Gasteria glauca | |
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Juvenile Gasteria glauca in cultivation | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Asphodelaceae |
Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
Genus: | Gasteria |
Species: | G. glauca |
Binomial name | |
Gasteria glauca van Jaarsv. | |
Gasteria glauca, the Kouga gasteria, is a succulent plant of the family Asphodelaceae native to the cliffs and rocky hillsides above the Kouga River, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. [1] It is most closely related to the species G. ellaphieae , G. vlokii and G. nitida . The flowers of all four species are also nearly identical, displaying the signature “gastric”, stomach-shaped blossoms that earn the genus the name of Gasteria. The blossoms are a favorite among pollinators, such as bees, lepidopterans, hoverflies, hummingbirds and sunbirds.
This species has thick and fleshy bluish—hence the term glauca, meaning "glaucous"—leaves, which are distichous in young plants but grow to become a dense rosette. Much like other Gasteria species, the growth habit of this plant appears to progress in an almost "horizontal" way, rather than in a truly circular rosette fashion. The leaves are also comparatively smooth, yet velvety-feeling, compared to the bumpy, textured leaves of other Gasteria species. Similarly, the leaves are nearly cylindrical with a pointy tip, shaped somewhat like a "tongue".
On the inflorescence, the long stamens are spirally-arranged, and are enclosed in filaments which are partially inserted in the central vein.
In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves or of structures resembling leaves.
Gasteria is a genus of succulent plants, native to South Africa and the far south-west corner of Namibia.
Gasteria excelsa, or thicket gasteria, is a succulent plant native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Haworthiopsis fasciata, formerly Haworthia fasciata, is a species of succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The species is rare in cultivation; most plants that are labelled as H. fasciata are actually Haworthiopsis attenuata.
Gasteria armstrongii is a dwarf succulent plant native to South Africa, in the genus Gasteria.
Gasteria acinacifolia, the dune gasteria, is succulent plant native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Gasteria disticha is succulent plant native to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria pillansii, the Namaqua gasteria, is succulent plant native to the arid winter-rainfall regions in the far west of South Africa and Namibia.
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, or knoppies gasteria, is a species of succulent plant native to the inland escarpment in the far north-east of South Africa.
Gasteria glomerata, the Kouga gasteria, is a small succulent plant native to the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria carinata, commonly called Bredasdorp gasteria or keeled gasteria, is a small and variable succulent plant native to the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
Gasteria brachyphylla, the Klein Karoo gasteria, is succulent plant native to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria croucheri, or Natal gasteria, is a succulent plant native to KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.
Gasteria baylissiana, or Suurberg gasteria, is a species of succulent flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae native to the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria ellaphieae, or Ellaphie's gasteria, is a succulent plant, native to the cliffs above the Kouga dam, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Gasteria vlokii, the Swartberg gasteria, is a succulent plant native to only a few widely separated spots in the Swartberg mountains of the southern 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.
Aloeae is a tribe of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae of the family Asphodelaceae, consisting of the aloes and their close relatives. The taxon may also be treated as the subfamily Alooideae by those botanists who retain the narrower circumscription of Asphodelaceae adopted prior to the APG III system. Typically, plants have rosettes of more or less succulent leaves, with or without a distinct stem. Their flowers are arranged in racemes and tend to be either small and pale, pollinated by insects, or larger and more brightly coloured, pollinated by birds. As of 2017, 11 genera are recognized, most created since 2010 by splitting off another five genera from Aloe and another two from Haworthia. Only two genera, Aloe and Aloidendron, are native outside southern Africa, extending northwards to the Arabian Peninsula. Seven genera are restricted to South Africa, some with small ranges. Members of the Aloeae are cultivated by succulent plant enthusiasts; Aloe species especially are used in temperate climates as ornamental garden plants. Some species are used in traditional medicine. Aloe vera and Aloe ferox are cultivated for their extracts, whose uses include moisturizers and emollients in cosmetics.