Gasteria rawlinsonii

Gasteria rawlinsonii
Gasteria rawlinsonii, the distichous (non-spiral) variety
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Xanthorrhoeaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Gasteria
Species:	G. rawlinsonii
Binomial name
Gasteria rawlinsonii Oberm.

Gasteria rawlinsonii is succulent plant native to South Africa in the genus Gasteria.

Description

The spiral-leaved variety in flower

It is one of the most unusual of the Gasteria species, as it grows long leafy stems of over a meter, which often hang down. One variety has distichous leaves, while in another the leaves spiral. The inflorescence has with pink flowers and appears between August and October.

Recent phylogenetic studies have shown this species to be a unique and primitive outlier in the Gasteria genus, relatively distinct from the other species in this genus. Similarly, it is unique in its growth habit, in its leaves sometimes being toothed, and in its difficulty in propagating by leaf-cuttings.^[1]

Distribution

This species is indigenous to the Eastern Cape, South Africa, occurring in the Baviaanskloof and Kouga mountains.

Here it tends to grow hanging on cliff faces in shady ravines, growing in well-drained sandstone soils, usually on the shady south-facing cliffs. Rainfall (c.200–300 mm per annum) occurs relatively evenly throughout the year.^[2]

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References