''Gasteria ellaphieae'', or Ellaphie's gasteria, is a

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

, native to the cliffs above the Kouga dam, in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

.Gasteria ellaphieae - SANBI Information page
/ref> It is most closely related to the species ''

Gasteria glauca ''Gasteria glauca'', the Kouga gasteria, is a succulent plant of the family Asphodelaceae native to the cliffs and rocky hillsides above the Kouga River, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is most closely related to the species '' G. ellaphi ...

'', and also to ''

Gasteria vlokii ''Gasteria vlokii'', the Swartberg gasteria, is a succulent plant native to only a few widely separated spots in the Swartberg mountains of the southern Cape, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is t ...

'' and ''

Gasteria nitida ''Gasteria nitida'', the Bathurst gasteria, is a succulent plant, native to the Eastern Cape grasslands of South Africa. Description Adult plants The species name ''"nitida"'' means ''"shiny"'' in Latin, and refers to the leaf surfaces. The fat, ...

''. The flowers of all four species are also almost identical. However, it can be distinguished by its short, triangular (usually recurved) leaves, which are densely covered in tiny tubercles. Its inflorescence is often branched.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1495412 Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces ellaphieae