Gasteria excelsa
| Gasteria excelsa | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Xanthorrhoeaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Gasteria |
| Species: | G. excelsa |
| Binomial name | |
| Gasteria excelsa Baker | |
Gasteria excelsa ("Thicket Gasteria") is a succulent plant, native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Description
It is one of the largest of the Gasteria species, second only to Gasteria acinacifolia in height. It has thicker, more massive leaves than its relative though.
It forms solitary rosettes of large, smooth, stiff, triangular leaves. The leaves are a dark mottled green. They are channeled on the upper side, and have a keel on their lower side.
The branched inflorescence is often over a meter in height, with pink flowers and appears between November and February.[1]
Distribution
This species is indigenous to the Eastern Cape, South Africa, where it is widely distributed in the thicket vegetation there - both inland and near to the rocky coast. Its favoured habitat is dense shady thicket, rocky south-facing cliffs and slopes. Its smaller relative, Gasteria nitida, inhabits a similar range, but occurs only on the lower open grasslands.
The species name, "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.
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gasteria excelsa. |