Gasteria
Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Gasteria
Closely Related Plants: Aloe, Haworthia, Kniphofia, Poellnitzia and Astroloba
No of Species: 26 (38 including sub-species and varieties)
Native to: South Africa (one species also in Namibia and another also in Swaziland).
Gasteria are named for the stomach-like flowers. A genus of slow growing, drought resistant, shade tolerant plants, first described as a genus by Duval in 1809. Grown primarily for their architectural leaves but the stomach-shaped flowers which are mainly hues of red/orange, often with yellow or green tips, are quite attractive in their own right.
Here is a checklist of currently accepted species, sub-species and varieties [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]:
| Section Gasteria Duval (10 species)
Series Gasteria Duval Gasteria baylissiana Gasteria bicolor var. bicolor Gasteria bicolor var. fallax Gasteria bicolor var. liliputana Gasteria brachyphylla var. brachyphylla Gasteria brachyphylla var. bayeri Gasteria disticha var. disticha Gasteria disticha var. langebergensis Gasteria disticha var. robusta Gasteria doreeniae Gasteria glomerata Gasteria koenii [5] Gasteria rawlinsonii Gasteria retusa Series Namaquana Van Jaarsv. Gasteria pillansii var. pillansii Gasteria pillansii var. ernesti-ruschii Gasteria pillansii var. hallii
|
Section Longiflorae Haw. (16 species)
Series Longifoliae (Haw.) Van Jaarsv. Gasteria acinacifolia Gasteria barbae [2] Gasteria batesiana var. batesiana Gasteria batesiana var. dolomitica Gasteria croucheri subsp. croucheri Gasteria croucheri subsp. pendulifolia Gasteria croucheri subsp. pondoensis [3] Gasteria loedolffiae [4] Gasteria tukhelensis Series Multifariae (Haw.) Van Jaarsv. Gasteria armstrongii Gasteria carinata var. carinata Gasteria carinata var. glabra Gasteria carinata var. verrucosa Gasteria ellaphieae Gasteria excelsa Gasteria glauca Gasteria nitida Gasteria polita Gasteria pulchra Gasteria thunbergii Gasteria vlokii |
References:
1. E.J. van Jaarsveld, The genus Gasteria: a synoptic review (new taxa and combinations), Aloe 2007, 44 (4), pp81-104
2. E. J. van Jaarsveld, Gasteria barbae, a new cliff-dwelling species from the Western Cape, South Africa, CactusWorld 2014, 32 (4), pp257-260
3. N.R. Crouch, G.F. Smith and D.G.A. Styles, Gasteria croucheri subsp. pondoensis, a new cremophyte from Pondoland, South Africa, Bothalia 2011, 41, pp183-185
4. E. J. van Jaarsveld, Gasteria loedolffiae (Asphodelaceae). A new cliff-dwelling species from the Eastern Cape, South Africa, Bradleya 2014, 32, pp44-49
5. E. J. van Jaarsveld, Gasteria koenii, a new gasteria species from the Swartberg, Western Cape, South Africa, Haseltonia 2017, 23, pp48-52