All you wanted to know about Haworthias, Gasterias and Astrolobas: Haworthia longiana

H. longiana, Elandsrivier road

Haworthiopsis longiana V.Poelln.

longiana: in honour of F.R.Long.

H. longiana has long, hard, rigid and curved leaves. It is slow growing species, slowly proliferous, restricted to steep rocky conglomerate. It forms large clumps and the individual leaves may exceed 200 mm in lenght. The leaves are amplexicaul and connect around the stem as in H. viscosa with which H. longiana is known to hybridize.

Distribution map

H. longiana distribution area is in Hankey - Patensie area, where gracilis, gordoniana, picturata, isabellae, fasciata, attenuata radula and viscosa occurs. In 2018 we discovered new population of longiana aff. near Grootrivier Poort, where logiana jumped over the mountains. This interesting form has much more recurved rosette, heavilly tubercled on both sides of the leaves. It co-occurs here with H. glauca, which grows a little bit lower down on the same slope.

White tubercled form Patensie area was described in past as a var. albinota, but it looks much different than the one from Grootrivier Poort. Another locality of slightly tubercled species was found in Cambria area at Eastern entrance of Baviaanskloof.

H. longiana is available in cultivation for long time, just collectors do not 'appreciate' it much, which is a pity - it can be quite nice element in your collections. It doesn´t have any special requirments, propagation is easy by offsetts.