''Haworthiopsis fasciata'', formerly ''Haworthia fasciata'', is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of succulent plant from the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Province,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The species is rare in cultivation; most plants that are labelled as ''H. fasciata'' are actually ''

Haworthiopsis attenuata ''Haworthiopsis attenuata'', formerly ''Haworthia attenuata'', commonly known as zebra haworthia, is a small species of succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. As an ornamental, it is one of the most commonly cultivated of ...

''.

Description

1 Haworthia fasciata - small plant in cultivation - CT

The plants are generally small, less than 10 cm (4 in) high. The triangular shaped leaves are

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

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 ''

'', 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''. However ''Haworthiopsis 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 often stouter and more deltoid. They tend to curve inwards more. Unlike ''H. attenuata'', older ''H. fasciata'' specimens also sometimes develop long columnal stems. The most fundamental distinction, though not externally obvious, is that ''Haworthiopsis fasciata'' has fibrous leaves – unlike ''H. attenuata'', but similar to '' H. glauca'', '' H. coarctata'', '' H. reinwardtii'' and '' H. longiana''.

Distribution

This species favours the acidic sands of the

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

vegetation type, in the area near Port Elizabeth and

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

, in the

Varieties

*''H. fasciata'' var. ''fasciata'' : the type variety *''H. fasciata'' f. ''browniana'' : a form with a dark red color *''H. fasciata'' f. ''patensie'' : a form with short, keeled, light green & red leaves File:Haworthia fasciata - hankey 2.jpg, The typical form File:Haworthia fasciata var browniana NW Uitenhage 1.jpg, The dark red form ''browniana'' File:Haworthia fasciata var patensie - Robertson RSA.jpg, The compact, keeled form ''patensie''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q219511 Flora of the Cape Provinces fasciata Garden plants