€21,20

Gasteria rawlinsonii Oberm. — Rawlinson's Gasteria

🌱 Morphology
One of the most unique Gasterias: its growth forms long stems that, as they develop on cliffs, end up hanging vertically. It is a very long-lived and slow-growing succulent, branched from the base, with stems that can reach 1 m in length. The leaves are arranged in two opposing rows or in a spiral, separated by 1–2 cm, and measure approximately 3–8 × 1–2.5 cm. They are linear, ribbon-like, slightly sickle-shaped and recurved towards the end. Their color varies from green to brownish or reddish green, occasionally with very faint white spots. When fully hydrated, they are extraordinarily fleshy and almost biconvex in cross-section. The epidermis is rough and the margins feature small teeth or tubercles that can blacken with age; the apex is obtuse, topped by a small point.

🌍 Distribution, habitat and family
A highly localized endemic of the Baviaanskloof and Kouga mountains, in the Eastern Cape province (South Africa). It lives in narrow gorges and vertical walls of mineral-poor quartzitic sandstone, between 300 and 700 m in altitude. Although it can appear in different orientations, it is especially frequent on south-facing walls and in shady places. The habitat belongs to the Gamtoos Thicket, within the Albany Thicket biome. Rainfall, about 200–300 mm annually, occurs in both winter and summer; the natural habitat is frost-free.

Family Asphodelaceae, tribe Alooideae, series Gasteria, which are the species of this genus with relatively small and strongly gasteriform flowers.

❄️ Temperature — USDA 9b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −4 ºC in cultivation. This figure corresponds to the published horticultural tolerance; in its natural habitat frosts are non-existent and average minimum temperatures are around 9 ºC.

☀️ Lighting
It prefers shade–partial shade, especially protected from intense sun in the warm months. An approximate target of 10–20 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR is suitable for maintaining compact growth and natural coloration without subjecting the leaves to excessive radiation.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Summer rest. It is recommended to water moderately during the warm period, allowing the substrate to dry partially between waterings. SANBI notes that it can receive water throughout the year, although it recommends reducing it in winter and providing deep watering during prolonged periods of heat and drought; therefore, it does not present as marked a summer dormancy as other succulents.

🌸 Flowering
It blooms mainly in spring, although in cultivation it may produce flowers outside this period. The inflorescence is a simple, elongated raceme of approximately 10–50 cm, with hanging flowers of 1.6–2.5 cm, pink to reddish-pink in color, and with the characteristic stomach-shaped inflated base. The basal part reaches about 6–9 mm in diameter and the upper tube about 4–6 mm. Pollination is mainly carried out by nectarivorous birds, especially sunbirds.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, Desert CHOICE® Aloes, Haworthias & Co. is recommended, with a high content of potassium and bio-assimilable calcium. It is applied with watering, reducing or suspending fertilization during the summer rest.

Gourmet 9x9 cm black pot

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

9x9 cm pot

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