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Gasteria glomerata
It has a fat grey green “tongues” and nice orange flowers… a
beautiful plant!
It is ideal for containers in a shady spot or grown in rockeries.
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Description: Distichous stemless succulent
plants 1,5- 4 cm tall, decumbent to erect It's a profuse suckerer that
form rounded clusters 2–5 (-8) cm large.
Leaves: Fat strap-shaped (lorate) to widely ovate, gray green or
glaucous 15–25(50) mm long and 15–20(25) mm broad at the base, slight
pebbly, stiff, ± rough (tuberculate), the inner erectly spreading, the
outer spreading (patent) or recurved, biconvex in cross section to
almost rounded (terete), becoming flattened during the dry season.. The
leaves are disctichous or forms incomplete spiral around the stem. The
leaf apex is truncate or rounded, bearing a mucro.
Flowers: The inflorescence consists of a spreading raceme,
120–200 mm long, bearing 8–20 hanging (pendent) flowers. The flowers are
fleshy (typical gasteriform) but with more orange than most: small,
dainty, ewer- shaped orange with green-brown tips (bicolor).
Fruit: Once pollinated, the capsule, 13–15 x 6 mm, becomes erect.
When mature they opens from the top to release the flattish seeds.
Seeds: Slack, 2–3 x 1.5–2.0 mm
Blooming season: Spring.
Cultivation: It is a slow growing, but long-lived and easy
species. Can be cultivated in the ground (in warm climate) or in a
container. The seedlings are slow growing and can be planted out in
small containers when they are large enough to handle. The soil should
preferably be very porous potting mix to increase drainage. Needs
light shade to shade, but If slowly acclimated, it can take a good deal
of sun. One of the more resistant Gasteria to fungal leaf spot-
relatively easily plant to keep good looking. Watering Needs: Moderate
water in summer, keep on the dry side in winter. The plants are
fertilized only once during the growing season with a balanced
fertilizer diluted to ˝ the recommended strength.
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Propagation: Gasteria is easily propagated by
the removal of offshoots or by leaf cuttings in spring or summer. To
propagate by leaf cuttings, remove a leaf and let it lie for about one
month, giving the wound time to heal. Leaf cuttings should first be
allowed to dry and heal by placing them on a cool windowsill for at
least three weeks. The basal part should preferably be treated with a
fungicide. Plant the leaves in an erect position or lying on their side
in sandy soil. Rooting is rapid and young plants can be harvested the
following season. Seed should be sown during spring or summer in
sandy, well-drained soil, and protected from full sun. They can also
grown from seed. Plants are easily pollinated by using a matchstick to
transfer pollen from one plant to the ripe stigma of another. If
fertilization does not take place, the flower will abort.
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Family: Asphodelaceae |
Scientific name: Gasteria glomerata
Van Jaarsveld 1991
Origin: Endemic confined to the lower Kouga River,
now part of the Kouga Dam. Southeastern Cape Province (South Africa)
Habitat: Grows in inhospitable rugged terrain and the plants
occur on sheer, vertical, shady, south-facing rocky ledges (altitude
500–700 m), in minerally poor, slightly acid quartzitic sandstone soils
with a ph of 6.4. The climate is hot in summer and mild in winter, with
no frost. Annual rainfall of 300–400 mm occurs in summer and winter, but
there is a tendency to winter dryness.
Common Names include: Kouga Gasteria, Ox Tongue
Etymology: The specific name glomerata means clustered into a
head and pertains to its densely arranged flower clusters.
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