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Cow Tongues

Gasteria

Also called Gasterias, Oxtongues

Cow Tongues
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0

Gasteria is a genus of succulents from South Africa and Namibia, grown for their thick, tongue-shaped leaves. Grow them in well-drained, sandy mix in bright or part-shade conditions and water sparingly.

Family
Asphodelaceae (Aloe family)
Grows as
Succulent
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Water thoroughly when the soil is fully dry, and water less in winter.
Soil
Well-drained sandy cactus or succulent mix.
Temperature
15–30 °C; protect below 5 °C
How easy
Easy

About

Gasteria is a genus of succulent plants, native to South Africa and the far south-west corner of Namibia.

How to grow it

Gasteria species are grown in well-drained, sandy soils in light shade. The species can all be propagated by off-sets and cuttings (leaf cuttings can usually be rooted easily). They are also commonly propagated by seed. Germination usually occurs within 8 days but may take as long as one month depending on the species.

Flowering times vary between species, but is usually in the spring & summer.

Where it grows

The species of this genus are mostly native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, where the bulk of the species occur – especially in the small area between Makhanda and Uniondale which enjoys rainfall throughout the year. However, the distribution of several species extends widely across the low-altitude coastal regions of the country, in an arched horseshoe shape across South Africa. At the one end of the genus's distribution, a species, Gasteria pillansii, extends into the far south-west corner of Namibia. At the other end, a species reaches the Lebombo mountains of Eswatini.

Other Gasteria plants

Coast Oxtongue · Gasteria barbae · Bushveld Oxtongue · Suurberg Oxtongue · Gasteria bicolor · Klein Karoo Gasteria · Gasteria camillae · Keeled Oxtongue · Natal Oxtongue · Robertson Oxtongue · Doreen’s Oxtongue · Ellaphie’s Oxtongue

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gasteria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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