Haworthia mirabilis

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Haworthia mirabilis
4 Haworthia mirabilis var mirabilis - Type variety Mierkrl b.jpg
Haworthia mirabilis in habitat at the type locality
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Haworthia
Species:
H. mirabilis
Binomial name
Haworthia mirabilis
(Haw.) Haw.
Synonyms
  • Aloe mirabilis Haw.
  • Apicra mirabilis (Haw.) Willd.
  • Catevala mirabilis (Haw.) Kuntze
  • Haworthia beukmanii
  • Haworthia retusa var. mirabilis (Haw.) Halda
  • Haworthia willowmorensis

Haworthia mirabilis is a species of the genus Haworthia belonging to the family Asphodelaceae.

Contents

Etymology

The genus name Haworthia honors the British botanist Adrian Hardy Haworth (1767–1833), while the species epitheton mirabilis derives from Latin and means "wonderful".

Description

Haworthia mirabilis specimen at the type locality, showing this species' distinctive bristles along the leaf margins, sharply pointed leaf tips and lined upper leaf face. 4 Haworthia mirabilis var mirabilis - Type variety Mierkrl a.jpg
Haworthia mirabilis specimen at the type locality, showing this species' distinctive bristles along the leaf margins, sharply pointed leaf tips and lined upper leaf face.

Haworthia mirabilias is a succulent evergreen slow-growing species reaching a size of 4 to 45 centimetres (1.6 to 17.7 in) in height. It is usually a solitary stemless plant. The leaves are green, with longitudinal pale green lines along the upper surfaces and small teeth along the margins. They turn to brownish or reddish in the sun. The leaves form a rosette and the flowers are white and small, in an inflorescence.

This highly variable species is one of the "retuse" species of Haworthia , meaning that it usually grows sunken beneath the ground with its flattened leaves only showing on the surface. Its rosette of succulent leaves are turned back ("retuse") so as to provide a flat and level face on the surface of the ground. In this form, it is similar to other retuse haworthias (e.g. Haworthia pygmaea , Haworthia bayeri , Haworthia springbokvlakensis , Haworthia magnifica , Haworthia emelyae and Haworthia retusa ).

However Haworthia mirabilias can be distinguished from its relatives by the marginal bristles on the leaves, and the way that the leaves end in sharp points. They also usually have lines on the upper leaf faces.

Varieties

(*The names in bold in the list below are recognized as accepted names by WCSP as of February, 2018. [1] )

Further subdivisions

Variety calcarea is sometimes included in Haworthia rossouwii instead, as Haworthia rossouwii var. calcarea). [7]

Distribution

This species is native to the Western Cape, South Africa. Specifically it occurs in the Overberg District, near the far southern point of the country.

Habitat

It grows in rocky areas, especially slopes or ridges, at an altitude of about 500 meters. In habitat it is often found growing in the partial shelter of bushes or shrubs.

Notes

  1. "Search Term = haworthia mirabilis". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  2. "Haworthia mirabilis Haworth. (1977) - Haworthia Updates".
  3. "Haworthia Revisited - 21. Haworthia mirabilis - Haworthia Updates".
  4. "Search Term = haworthia magnifica". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  5. "The 'Retuse' Haworthias (1975) - Haworthia Updates".
  6. "Search term = Haworthia maraisii". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  7. "Haworthia rossouwii var. calcarea (M.B.Bayer) M.B.Bayer". Plants of the World Online (POWO). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 13 February 2023.

Related Research Articles

<i>Haworthia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Haworthia is a large genus of small succulent plants endemic to Southern Africa (Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa).

<i>Haworthia cymbiformis</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia cymbiformis is a species of the genus Haworthia in the family Asphodelaceae, endemic to the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa.

<i>Haworthiopsis coarctata</i> Species of succulent

Haworthiopsis coarctata, formerly Haworthia coarctata, is a species of flowering succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa and naturalized in Mexico. It is one of the species of Haworthiopsis that is commonly cultivated as an ornamental.

<i>Haworthia truncata</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia truncata, locally known as horse's teeth, is a species of succulent plant in the genus Haworthia. It is found in the Little Karoo region, in the far east of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

<i>Haworthia magnifica</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia magnifica is a species of the genus Haworthia belonging to the family Asphodelaceae.

<i>Haworthia bolusii</i> Species of flowering plant

Haworthia bolusii is a species of Haworthia that was originally described by John Gilbert Baker in 1880.

<i>Haworthia cooperi</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia cooperi is a diverse and varied species of the genus Haworthia in the family Asphodelaceae, endemic to the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa.

<i>Haworthia retusa</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia retusa is a species of flowering plants of the genus Haworthia in the family Asphodelaceae, endemic to a very small area around Riversdale, in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Growing to 10 cm (3.9 in) tall and broad, it is a perennial succulent with thick triangular leaves and small white tubular flowers held in 50 cm (20 in) tall racemes.

<i>Haworthia emelyae</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia emelyae is a species of the genus Haworthia in the family Asphodelaceae, endemic to the Western Cape Province in South Africa.

<i>Haworthia pygmaea</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia pygmaea is a species of the genus Haworthia in the family Asphodelaceae, endemic to the Mossel Bay area of the Western Cape, South Africa.

<i>Haworthia bayeri</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia bayeri is a species of the genus Haworthia in the family Asphodelaceae, endemic to the southern Cape Provinces in South Africa.

<i>Haworthia springbokvlakensis</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia springbokvlakensis is a species of the genus Haworthia in the family Asphodelaceae, endemic to a very restricted area of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa.

<i>Haworthiopsis scabra</i> Species of succulent

Haworthiopsis scabra, formerly Haworthia scabra, is a species of flowering succulent plant from arid regions of the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces, South Africa.

<i>Haworthia arachnoidea</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia arachnoidea, locally known as "papierrosie" (paper-rose) or "spinnekopnes" (spider-nest), is the type species of the genus Haworthia, in the family Asphodelaceae, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

<i>Haworthia maraisii</i> Species of flowering plant

Haworthia maraisii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodeloideae, found in the southwest Cape Provinces of South Africa. It has been treated as a variety of either Haworthia magnifica or Haworthia mirabilis, but is accepted as a full species in the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.

<i>Haworthia turgida</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia turgida, also sometimes known as the windowpane plant, is a species of Haworthia native to the Cape Provinces. Its common name comes from the translucent panes on its leaves, which are similar to those of Haworthia cooperi and some other species in the genus. It grows in dense clusters of offsets from the base, and in its native habitat prefers rocky limestone or slate cliffs. The main type has pale green leaves but varies widely. Varieties include Haworthia turgida var. longibracteata (M.B.Bayer) and Haworthia turgida var. suberecta (Poelln.)

<i>Haworthia rossouwii</i> Species of succulent

Haworthia rossouwii is a species of succulent plant belonging to the genus Haworthia and is classified under the family Asphodelaceae. It is native to Southern Africa, in the Overberg region of the Western Cape Province.

<i>Haworthia reticulata</i> Species of plant

Haworthia reticulata is a species of succulent plant native to the southwestern Cape Provinces of South Africa. The species has several varieties, including var. hurlingii which is the smallest at up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide.

<i>Haworthia mirabilis <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> mundula</i> Variety of succulent plant

Haworthia mirabilis var. mundula is a variety of Haworthia mirabilis merged in 2012. It was originally Haworthia mundula.

References

Bibliography

  1. Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. Welman, E. Reitief, K. L. Immelman, G. Germishuizen, B. J. Pienaar, M. v. Wyk & A. Nicholas. 1987. List of species of southern African plants. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa 2(1–2): 1–152(pt. 1), 1–270(pt. 2).
  2. Natl. Cact. Succ. J. 32: 18 (1977).