Main centres: | 1-3 business days |
Regional areas: | 3-4 business days |
Remote areas: | 3-5 business days |
Haworthia is a large genus of small succulent plants, mostly endemic to South Africa. Like Gasteria and Aloe, they are members of the family Asphodeloideae and they generally resemble miniature aloes, except in their flowers, which are characteristic in appearance. Horticulturally they are popular rockery garden and container plants. Typically they range from 4 cm to 20 cm high, depending on the species, though the inflorescences of some species may exceed 40 cm. Solitary or clump-forming most species have firm, tough leaves, usually dark green in color, whereas others are softer and are window plants with translucent panels through which sunlight can reach internal photosynthetic tissues. Their flowers are small, white and very similar between species. But their leaves show wide variations even within one species.
Haworthia maxima commonly known as Pearl Plant in English or Seepaalwyn, Kleinaalwyn and Vratjiesaalwyn in Afrikaans is a South African endemic succulent found exclusively in the Western Cape Province. Haworthia maxima has the largest plant body in the genus. Previously known as Aloe pumila, then Haworthia pumila and Haworthia margaritifera and now accepted as Haworthia maxima it is sometimes mistaken for an Aloe. The attraction to Haworthia maxima is the semi-erect to erect plump, long, rigid, pointed leaves that curve upwards from the base of the plant, forming a compact rosette with many conspicuous greenish white tubercles. Each leaf is bright to olive-green, but winter chill or excessive drought stress will cause them to blush red. During summer it bears an ornately branched panicle of flowers. The individual flowers are small, like other species in the Haworthia genus and differ from the aloes that usually have eye-catching, colourful flowers. |