Kingdom Plantae Clade Monocots Family Asphodelaceae Rank Species | Clade Angiosperms Order Asparagales Subfamily Asphodeloideae | |
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Similar Haworthia bruynsii, Haworthia mucronata, Haworthia aristata, Haworthia kingiana | ||
Haworthia pungens is a species of flowering succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Contents
Description
A proliferous, caulescent succulent, with sharp smooth dark green leaves, that grow in five (and occasionally three) rows. It forms spreading clumps. In its appearance it most resembles Astroloba rubriflora or Haworthia viscosa (although the leaves of H.pungens are smooth and the plants are less upright in form).
The species name "pungens" means "sharp-pointed", and refers to the leaf-shape.
Taxonomy
Within the genus Haworthia, the species forms part of the subgenus Hexangulares.
Recent phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that subgenus Hexangulares is actually relatively unrelated to other Haworthias (being more closely related to Gasterias. It will therefore comprise a new, separate genus, Haworthiopsis, and this species will accordingly become "Haworthiopsis pungens".
Distribution
This vulnerable species occurs in two localities within a small area in Langkloof, near Joubertina, in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Here it grows on rocky conglomerate west-facing slopes in fynbos vegetation.