''Tulista marginata'' is a species of ''

Tulista ''Tulista'' is a small genus of succulent plants endemic to South Africa. They were formerly included within the genus ''Haworthia''. Characteristics The genus is characterised by a large size (relative to other haworthias), by their stemless ro ...

'' succulent plant, from the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

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 ...

Description and taxonomy

Haworthia marginata - Tulista Heidelberg RSA 1

It is an evergreen, winter-growing succulent plant with short, sharp leaves arranged in rosettes of 20 cm in diameter. The leaves are hard, keeled, upright, pale in colour, and can be with tubercles. In the summer (November to December), T.marginata produces pink-white flowers on a multi-branched inflorescence. ''Tulista marginata'' is a variable species, with different populations and varieties, differing in the leaf shape, colour, growth form and tubercles. It was formerly classed in the genus ''

Haworthia ''Haworthia'' is a large genus of small succulent plants endemic to Southern Africa (Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa). Like the aloes, they are members of the subfamily Asphodeloideae and they generally resemble mi ...

'', within which it was one of the largest species. It was classed with the other large species ('' T.pumila'', '' T.minima'' and '' T.kingiana'') in the ''"Robustipedunculares"'' subgenus. Following recent

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

studies, it has been shown that these four species in fact constitute a distinct out-group, separate from other Haworthias. They were therefore classed as a separate genus, ''"

"''.

Distribution

The natural distribution of this species is in the far southern coastal part of the Cape, from as far east as Riversdale, to Ashton in the West. This is an arid, winter-rainfall area. In the wild the plant is threatened by illegal collecting and

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

by cattle. It formerly occurred over a far wider range than it currently does, with the remaining populations isolated and declining. Its habitat is usually arid slopes and flats of sandstone or shale, often in

renosterveld Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregion ...

vegetation.

Cultivation

It is rare in cultivation, and it is both slow growing and long lived. It thrives in very well-drained soil, in a semi-shade environment. The plant rarely offsets, so most propagation is by seed, though leaf cuttings can also be rooted.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q64690004, from2=Q1591736 marginata Endemic flora of South Africa Flora of the Cape Provinces Renosterveld