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Blade Oxtongue

Gasteria excelsa

Also called Thicket Gasteria

Blade Oxtongue
Photo: Abu Shawka, CC0

Gasteria excelsa, known as blade oxtongue or thicket gasteria, is a large succulent from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, forming solitary rosettes of stiff, sharp, mottled dark green leaves. Give it bright light with some shade, and water only when the soil is dry.

Family
Asphodelaceae (Aloe family)
Grows as
Succulent
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Water deeply, then let the soil dry out fully before watering again; reduce water in winter.
Soil
Fast-draining cactus or succulent mix, with added grit or perlite.
Temperature
10–30 °C; protect from frost below about 5 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
SE. Cape Prov.
Climate
subtropical

About

Gasteria excelsa, or thicket gasteria, is a succulent plant native to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Where it grows

This species is indigenous to the Eastern Cape, South Africa, where it is widely distributed in the thicket vegetation of the Transkei - both inland and near to the rocky coast. It occurs from Grahamstown in the west to as far north as Cala.

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 excelsa 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.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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