''Gasteria glomerata'', the Kouga gasteria, is a small

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

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 ...

Description

This dwarf species of ''

Gasteria ''Gasteria'' is a genus of succulent plants, native to South Africa and the far south-west corner of Namibia. Naming The genus is named for its stomach-shaped flowers (''"gaster"'' is Greek for "stomach") that result from the swollen base on the ...

'' has its rounded tongue-shaped leaves in two opposite rows. They are slightly rough in texture, and often strongly recurved. It is highly proliferous, and forms dense clumps. The flowers are exceptionally fat and fleshy ("gasteriform"). The species name, ''glomerata'' means "clumped" or "clustered into a head".Gasteria glomerata - Information page
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Distribution

It occurs in the vicinity of the Kouga Dam, near Port Elizabeth in the

. Within this very small natural range, it occurs on cliff faces. It thrives in cultivation, and is widely propagated around the world as an ornamental succulent.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q154220 Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces glomerata