Haworthia decipiens

Haworthia decipiens
Haworthia decipiens in habitat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asphodelaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Haworthia
Species:	H. decipiens
Binomial name
Haworthia decipiens Poelln.

Haworthia decipiens is a species of Haworthia, in the family Asphodelaceae, in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa.^[1]

Description

Image of plant in habitat at Prince Albert, showing leaf shape

Cyanea form from Uniondale, where plants have a more blue-green colour

Haworthia decipiens is frequently confused with its western relative, Haworthia arachnoidea and is both variable and hard to identify ("decipiens" = "deceptive"). Like its relatives, it has rosettes of dense succulent leaves, which dry and contract during drought, and are covered in soft bristles

This species can be distinguished by its 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.

It has a range of local forms and varieties. To the west, this species gradually becomes Haworthia lockwoodii, and to the south-west it becomes Haworthia mucronata (south of the Swartberg Mountains).

Flowering time is in the Spring.^[2]

Distribution

This is a widespread species, occurring from near Prince Albert in the west, along the north of the Swartberg Mountains as far as Uniondale and Willowmore in the Eastern Cape. It occurs in a wide range of habitats and usually in the shelter of protective shading bushes.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Haworthia decipiens.

References