Gasteria glauca
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| Gasteria glauca | |
|---|---|
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| Juvenile Gasteria glauca in cultivation | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Gasteria |
| Species: | G. glauca
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| Binomial name | |
| Gasteria glauca van Jaarsv.
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Gasteria glauca, the Kouga gasteria, is a
succulent plant of the family Asphodelaceae native to the cliffs and rocky hillsides above the Kouga River, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.[1] It is most closely related to the species G. ellaphieae, G. vlokii and G. nitida. The flowers of all four species are also nearly identical, displaying the signature “gastric”, stomach-shaped blossoms that earn the genus the name of Gasteria. The blossoms are a favorite among pollinators, such as bees, lepidopterans, hoverflies, hummingbirds and sunbirds
.
This species has thick and fleshy bluish—hence the term glauca, meaning "glaucous"—leaves, which are
distichous
in young plants but grow to become a dense rosette. Much like other Gasteria species, the growth habit of this plant appears to progress in an almost "horizontal" way, rather than in a truly circular rosette fashion. The leaves are also comparatively smooth, yet velvety-feeling, compared to the bumpy, textured leaves of other Gasteria species. Similarly, the leaves are nearly cylindrical with a pointy tip, shaped somewhat like a "tongue".
On the inflorescence, the long stamens are spirally-arranged, and are enclosed in filaments which are partially inserted in the central vein.
References
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