Wednesday, February 6, 2008

ZEBRA PLANT: Lilaceae Haworthia Fasciata


I really miss blogging! I miss my plants, and I miss sharing with you. A couple of times this week I stopped to get myself a little something to cheer me up. I picked up three new babies at Lowe's on Tuesday, and the Jelly Bean plant I told you about on Monday, but I was good today and came straight home.

Anyway, here's one of my latest. It is a Zebra plant from the Liliaceae family. A new family for me! It reminds me more of a lizard than a Zebra plant, so I catch myself calling it that name all the time. It has bumpy white stripes on it! It's really strange to feel! I really love it. It is very reptile like!

Okay, so here are the scientific facts on this plant:

Family: Liliaceae (lil-ee-AY-see-ay) and Asphodelaceae (as-foh-del-AY-see-ay) Both having to due with the fact that they are from the lily family.
Genus: Hawthoria (hay-WOR-thee-uh) Named for Adrian Hardy Haworth, 19th century British botanist
Species: Fasciata (fash-ee-AY-tuh) meaning it is bound together (It is a tight plant)!
Common Name: Zebra Plant (But I think it should be Lizard or Reptile plant)!
Min Temp: to 32 degrees F
Bloom: White/Off-White - Mid-Spring
USDA Zone: Zone 10
Exposure: Filtered Sun/Full Sun
Height: 6 inches tall
Origin: South Africa

And per The Cactus Collection:

"Haworthia fasciata, native to South Africa, is an upright, slender rosette with tapering incurved dark green leaves covered with silvery white raised "pearls" that connect to form bands that give the impression of "zebra stripes". Beautiful, heirloom favorite that makes an excellent house plant or windowsill plant. Haworthias are winter growers and are dormant in the hottest summer months. Require very porous soil with excellent drainage as many forms have thickened tap roots. Prefer filtered, bright light. Those species with red veining or chocolate faces will exhibit superior color in bright light. All forms that are green, especially included the variegated forms, will prefer filtered light. Water thoroughly when soil is dry to the touch. Protect from frost. "

By the way, I found two families for this plant, which are shown above, both referring to it's connection with the lily family.

4 comments:

Donna said...

Oh hey, you have some babies growing on the side of your Zebra Plant. How cool! I can't wait to see what they look like when they get really big.

Julie said...

Haworthia is so beautiful...this one is really nice...love the dark green color with the white stripes!
Nice baby on the side too!!!

Kelly said...

Thanks! I just noticed that I hadn't changed the common name of the plant. I cut and paste to save myself time from other postings. I want to call in sick today and play with my plants...sigh...

Unknown said...

I'm glad I found this blog!! I actually have a haworthia that is a few years old. However it has stopped growing in the last year and a half. :( It wasn't getting enough sun in the window so I have a light over it. I'm not sure if it will help, however. I really want to save it though. Does anyone have any idea what could be wrong??