Haworthia arachnoidea
| Haworthia arachnoidea | |
|---|---|
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| Haworthia arachnoidea in habitat, near Laingsburg. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Haworthia |
| Species: | H. arachnoidea |
| Binomial name | |
| Haworthia arachnoidea Haw. | |
Haworthia arachnoidea is the type species of the genus Haworthia, in the family Asphodelaceae, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Description
The plant has numerous leaves, covered in translucent bristles, in a dense rosette, which dry and contract in the arid summers. It usually occurs in a wide range of habitats and usually in the shelter of protective rocks and shading plants.
It is a widespread and extremely variable species, with no typical form. There are also a range of intermediate forms between this species and Haworthia mucronata. Many of these intermediates are treated as a variety, and given the name Haworthia arachnoidea var. nigricans[1]
It is sometimes confused with the widespread Haworthia decipiens (decipiens = deceptive) which occurs in the Great Karoo to the east. However H. decipiens has shorter, flatter, wider leaves; a lighter colour; translucent leaf tips; larger and sparser bristles which are mainly only on the leaf margins; and only a very weak leaf keel.[2]
Distribution
This most well-known form of this species occurs in the Breede River valley, in the areas of Worcester and Robertson (H. arachnoidea var. arachnoidea). Other varieties of this same species occur northwards into the Namaqualand (var. namaquensis), and eastwards as far as Port Elizabeth (vars. xiphiophylla, aranea and setata).
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