Haworthia marginata
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| Haworthia marginata in habitat near Heidelberg, South Africa. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Haworthia |
| Species: | H. marginata |
| Binomial name | |
| Haworthia marginata | |
Haworthia marginata is a species of Haworthia succulent plant, from the Western Cape, South Africa.
Description and taxonomy
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), H.marginata produces pink-white flowers on a multi-branched inflorescence.
Haworthia marginata is a variable species, with different populations and varieties, differing in the leaf shape, colour, growth form and tubercles.
It is also one of the largest of the Haworthia species, and is classed with the other large species (H.maxima, H.minima and H.kingiana) in the "Robustipedunculares" subgenus. Following recent phylogenetic studies, it has been shown that these four species in fact constitute a distinct out-group, separate from other Haworthias. It has therefore been proposed to class them as a separate genus, "Tulista".[1][2]
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 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 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.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Haworthia marginata. |
References
- ↑ Manning, J.C., Boatwright, J.S., Daru, B.H., Maurin, O. and Van der Bank, M. 2014. A molecular phylogeny and generic classification of Asphodelaceae subfamily Alooideae: A final resolution of the prickly issue of polyphyly in the Alooids?. Systematic Botany 39(1):55-74.
- ↑ http://haworthiaupdates.org/haworthia-revisited-59-haworthia-marginata/