Mother-in-Law's Tongue (Gasteria excelsa) Seeds

This species is named "excelsa" because it was seen by its author as "excellent". It is indeed a fine Gasteria and is the largest species in the genus. Gasteria acinacifolia has longer leaves but excelsa exceeds it and all other Gasterias in sheer bulk! Fully grown plants can be 60 cm in diameter, a bit smaller than acinacifolia, but the leaves and plant body are very thick, heavy and robust, giving the plant an overall appearance suggesting massiveness.

Gasteria excelsa is found over a wide area in the Eastern Cape Province, from near Port Alfred in the southwest, to Queenstown in the north and thence eastwards almost to the coast. There is little real variation from one colony to the next, with the exception of a form named 'Cala' which is very squat, short-leaved and otherwise smaller in size. Cultivar 'Cala' is found near Queenstown in the Cala Pass area northeast of town.

Gasteria excelsa is a very attractive plant with leaves that often have quite interesting patterns - these patterns are composed of light and dark coloring, sometimes bordering on striping like a tiger. Other leaf types are more concolorous. In many forms the leaf margins have a horny edge that is quite sharp. The cultivar called 'Nqancule' is notorious for the sharpness of its leaf edges.

When Gasteria excelsa blooms the owner is in for a real show. The plants often send up more than one inflorescence and each inflorescence is usually branched as well. The resulting flower stalk is, as you would expect, very impressive. The stalk may ascend 60 cm. in height and all told the number of individual flowers reach into the hundreds. It is quite a sight in full bloom, and in Tucson, our hummingbirds love them!

If you can afford the space Gasteria excelsa is truly an exceptional species for the hobbyist and horticulturist.