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Gasteria baylissiana mysterious gardens g00008
Gasteria baylissiana ("Suurberg Gasteria") is succulent plant native to the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
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Description
A small species, with distichous (two rows) of strap-shaped leaves and bright pink flowers, which are unusually inflated.
Both upper and lower surfaces of the leaves are swollen, convex, rough, leathery and densely covered in tiny, white, truncate tubercles. These tubercles are one of the easiest way of identifying this species. In the shade, its leaves become elongated; while in sunnier conditions they remain short and compact. It offsets from the base, to form clumps, and also grows from broken leaves which root and develop shoots.
It is often confused with Gasteria nitida var armstrongii and Gasteria carinata var. verrucosa, which both have a similar squat, retuse, distichous growth form. However baylissiana can be distinguished by its dense white "misty" speckling of tiny tubercles, and by its smaller, distinctively-shaped flowers.
Distribution
This species, a close relative of Gasteria bicolor, is retricted to a deep gorge within the Albany Thicket of Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa.
