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This desirable
species,
despite the fact that actually is common in
cultivation, still inspires trepidation and admiration by way of its
unusual
truncate
leaf
tips. It is a superb
succulent, unique, distinctive and very different for any
collection
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Description:
This desirable species, despite the fact that actually is common
in cultivation, still inspires trepidation and admiration by way of its
unusual truncate leaf tips. It is a superb plant, unique, distinctive
and very different for any collection
Habit:
Stemless
distichous plants, medium sized with
windowed leaves on
upper
margin.
Solitary or slowly
clumping depending on the
clone
(Unpredictably, some
plants remain
unbranched, while others readily
cluster)
Leaves: The
leaves look as if they have been roughly cut off at the tops and
they are arranged like a
fan, not a
rosette. As the plant
grows take
on an almost
crested appearance. The leaf size and thickness, of the
end-areas will vary greatly from
clone to
clone. The
surface is
warty and the blunt end is
transparent whit some interesting leaf
markings, others are rather plain, this "lightning flash"
patterns in the leaves do not come out until the plant reaches
maturity.
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Fenestrate leaves |
Contractile roots |
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Fenestrate leaves: This plant is a choice example of the window-leaf (
fenestrate leaf)
adaptation found in many
Haworthias,
Mesembreanthemums and Peperomias,
the
translucent 'glassy'
windowed
apices allow
light into the internal
plant body rich in
chlorophyll-bearing layers of cells, thereby
providing a much larger
assimilation area.
The windows greatly increase
the photosynthesizing area by allowing light into the centres of leaves
and at the same time avoiding
water loss.
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Notes: This
species has been the subject of passionate work of
breeding and
selection by the Japanese, and a number of wonderful
cultivars with
white lacy patterns on green-grey
windowed tips have been developed
and
propagated, and some
specimens have a very unique leaf shape.
Cultivation: Not
difficult
to cultivate, though it is not fast growing and takes several years to
form good looking heads, Must be repotted frequently, because
every year a part of their roots die and then rots in the pot.
Watering Needs:
Water regularly in the growing season, they should never dry out
completely during the rest period
Frost Tolerance:
Hardy to -1 (-5)°C
Propagation:
Seeds, offsets.
Sun Exposure:
it prefer locations where it's bright or in
light shade, it can tolerate shade, shelter from direct sun
during the hottest hours. |
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Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and
cultivars of Haworthia truncata.
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Family:
Asphodelaceae (Aloacee - Liliaceae) |
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Scientific name:
Haworthia truncata var. truncata
Schoenland
Published
in:
Václav Richtr, p. 108
Distribution:
South Africa (Western Cape: Little Karoo)
in Oudtshoorn area (in a number of locality, Volmoed, Vanwykskraal,
Dysselsdorp etc.)
Habitat: They
grow in the
shade of
bushes and occasionally in
open areas. They grow
underground with only
the
apex of the
leaves rising above the
soil surface so that they are
difficult to find. This is an excellent protection against
herbivores .
This very singular plant has
contractile
leaves that will pull the plant
into the
ground during times of
drought, leaving only the
windowed tops
exposed.
Etymology:
The
genus "Haworthia" is
named after the British botanist Adrian Hardy
Haworth (1767–1833)
The
specific name "truncata"derives from the Latin
adjective “truncatus” meaning “cut off, truncated”
(The specific name implies:
"squarely cut off")
Synonyms:
- Hawhorthia truncata Schoenl.
- Haworthia truncata spp. truncata
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Contractile roots pull the this plant deeper into the
soil to protect it from
sun and
heat during the
dry season.
Contractile roots are found in many plants
species mainly at the
base of an
underground
organ (bulb,
corm,
succulent rosette, etc.)
The contractile roots continually
pull the plants deeper into the
ground as the stem
elongates so the it remain
subterranean or at an appropriate level in the ground.. Contractile
roots are usually broad,
fleshy, vertical, tapering, wrinkled looking and very distinct of
the rather
cylindrical fine
absorbent roots and are capable of incredible effort.
In most cases, contractile roots not only produce a strong pulling force
on but also push away the
substratum and create a soil channel in which plant movement is made
easier. For example in
Haworthia the
fleshy contractile roots swell with
moisture in the
wet season creating a space in the
substrate then - after the full
drying out of
soil during the
dry season - a considerable parts of this roots
die off leaving empty spaces in the
substratum that allow plant movement with minimum or no resistance,
at the same time the other roots
dehydrates and shrinks vertically, drawing the plant down into the
ground. This is repeated early permitting the top of the plant to remain
constantly at the
soil level.
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