Gasteria is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of succulent plants native to South Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Closely related genera include Aloe

Aloe

Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....

 and Haworthia

Haworthia

Haworthia is a genus of flowering plants within the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae.. They are small solitary or clump-forming and endemic to South Africa. Some species have firm, tough leaves, usually dark green in color, whereas other are soft and semi-translucent. Their...

. The genus is named for its stomach

Stomach

The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...

-shaped flowers and is part of the family Xanthorrhoeaceae

Xanthorrhoeaceae

Xanthorrhoeaceae is the botanical name of a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription of the family has varied wildly....

, subfamily Asphodeloideae. Common names include cow-tongue cactus, lawyer's tongue, mother-in-law's tongue, ox-tongue.

Cultivation

Gasteria species are grown in well-drained, sandy soils in light shade. Germination usually occurs within 8 days but may take as long as one month depending on the species.

Species and varieties

• Gasteria acinacifolia
• Gasteria armstrongii
  Gasteria armstrongii
  Gasteria armstrongii is succulent plant native to South Africa in the genus Gasteria....
  
  
• Gasteria batesiana var. batesiana
• Gasteria batesiana var. dolomitica
• Gasteria baylissiana
• Gasteria bicolor var. bicolor
• Gasteria bicolor var. liliputana
• Gasteria brachyphylla var. bayeri
• Gasteria brachyphylla var. brachyphylla
• Gasteria carinata var. carinata
• Gasteria carinata var. glabra
• Gasteria carinata var. retusa
• Gasteria carinata var. thunbergii
• Gasteria carinata var. verrucosa
• Gasteria croucheri
• Gasteria disticha
• Gasteria dorineae
• Gasteria ellaphieae
• Gasteria excelsa
  Gasteria excelsa
  Gasteria excelsa is succulent plant native to South Africa in the genus Gasteria....
  
  
• Gasteria glauca
• Gasteria glomerata
• Gasteria nitida
• Gasteria obliqua
• Gasteria pendulifolia
• Gasteria pillansii var. ernesti-ruschii
• Gasteria pillansii var. pillansii
• Gasteria polita
• Gasteria pulchra
• Gasteria rawlinsonii
• Gasteria tukhelensis
• Gasteria verrucosa
  Gasteria verrucosa
  Gasteria verrucosa is an ornamental plant in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae....
  
  
• Gasteria vlokii

External links

• Webshots - Images of Gasteria
• The Encyclopedia of House Plants - Gasteria
• Gasteria