Haworthia mirabilis

Haworthia mirabilis
Haworthia mirabilis in habitat
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asphodelaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Haworthia
Species:	H. mirabilis
Binomial name
Haworthia mirabilis
Synonyms
Aloe mirabilis Haw. Apicra mirabilis (Haw.) Willd. Catevala mirabilis (Haw.) Kuntze Haworthia beukmanii Haworthia retusa var. mirabilis (Haw.) Halda Haworthia willowmorensis

Haworthia mirabilis is a species of the genus Haworthia belonging to the family Asphodelaceae.

Etymology

The genus name Haworthia honors the British botanist Adrian Hardy Haworth (1767–1833), while the species epitheton mirabilis derives from Latin and means "wonderful”.

Description

H.mirabilis in habitat during the dry summer

Haworthia mirabilias is a succulent evergreen slow-growing species reaching a size of 4 to 45 centimetres (1.6 to 17.7 in) in height. It is usually a solitary stemless plant. The leaves are green, with longitudinal pale green lines along the upper surfaces and small teeth along the margins. They turn to brownish or reddish in the sun. The leaves form a rosette and the flowers are white and small, in an inflorescence.

This highly variable species is one of the "retuse" species of Haworthia, meaning that it usually grows sunken beneath the ground with its flattened leaves only showing on the surface. Its rosette of succulent leaves are turned back ("retuse") so as to provide a flat and level face on the surface of the ground. In this form, it is similar to other retuse haworthias (e.g. Haworthia pygmaea, Haworthia bayeri, Haworthia springbokvlakensis, Haworthia magnifica, Haworthia emelyae and Haworthia retusa).

However Haworthia mirabilias can be distinguished from its relatives by the marginal bristles on the leaves, and the way that the leaves end in sharp points.

Subspecies

• Haworthia mirabilis var. badia (Poelln.) M.B.Bayer
• Haworthia mirabilis var. beukmannii (Poelln.) M.B.Bayer
• Haworthia mirabilis var. calcarea M.B.Bayer
• Haworthia mirabilis var. consanguinea M.B.Bayer
• Haworthia mirabilis var. mirabilis (autonym)
• Haworthia mirabilis var. paradoxa (Poelln.) M.B.Bayer
• Haworthia mirabilis var. sublineata (Poelln.) M.B.Bayer
• Haworthia mirabilis var. triebneriana (Poelln.) M.B.Bayer

Haworthia maraisii (V.Poelln.) is now included as a variety under Haworthia mirabilis.^[1]

• 
  Haworthia mirabilis var badia, the reddish-brown attenuate variety, sometimes considered the separate species Haworthia badia.
• 
  Haworthia mirabilis var triebneriana
• 
  The tiny, dark-coloured Haworthia mirabilis var maraisii, usually considered a separate species Haworthia maraisii.
• 
  The small, compact form Haworthia mirabilis var mundula

Distribution

This species is native to South Africa.

Habitat

It grows on rocky areas at an altitude of about 500 meters.

Notes

References

• Tropicos
• Plant list
• Haworthia-gasteria
• Dressler, S.; Schmidt, M. & Zizka, G. (2014). [http://www.africanplants.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?submitForm=true&page_id=77&searchTextMenue=Haworthia+mirabilis&filterRegionIDs[]=6&filterRegionIDs[]=1&filterRegionIDs[]=2&filterRegionIDs[]=3&filterRegionIDs[]=5 "Haworthia mirabilis"]. African plants – a Photo Guide. Frankfurt/Main: Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. 

Bibliography

1. Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. Welman, E. Reitief, K. L. Immelman, G. Germishuizen, B. J. Pienaar, M. v. Wyk & A. Nicholas. 1987. List of species of southern African plants. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa 2(1–2): 1–152(pt. 1), 1–270(pt. 2).
2. Natl. Cact. Succ. J. 32: 18 (1977).

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