Haworthia maculata var. maculata

Haworthia maculata var. maculata is a stemless leaf succulent growing clumps of leaf rosettes. Rosette diameter is around 8 cm.

The many lance-shaped, bulging leaves spread or are erect when young. The leaf colour is purplish-green with scattered spots. Short spines or teeth grow along the margins and keel.

The inflorescence is a single raceme bearing 15 to 20 flowers of which only a few are open simultaneously. The flower is white with some yellow in its throat and green veins along the perianth keels. Flowering happens late in spring.

The species distribution is in the Worcester and Robertson region. Two other closely related species grow here, viz. H. herbacea and H. reticulata. Because of blurred relationships among these plants causing uncertainty about identity the assessment of extinction risk of all these plants still awaits taxonomical clarification.

The plants live in a fynbos or renosterveld habitat, growing on quartzitic outcrops of arid slopes. Subsp. maculata is probably particularly close to H. herbacea (http://haworthiaupdates.org; www.redlist.sanbi.org).