Tulista minima
| Tulista minima | |
|---|---|
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| Tulista minima in habitat | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Tulista |
| Species: | T. minima |
| Binomial name | |
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Tulista minima (Aiton) Boatwr. & J.C.Manning |
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Tulista minima is a species of succulent plant, from the far south of the Western Cape, South Africa. It was formerly classed in the genus Haworthia, as Haworthia minima.
It is a small evergreen succulent plant, with hard, fleshy blue-green leaves that are covered in white tubercles. It offsets readily and can form clumps.
It produces white flowers with pink tips in the summer (November to December).
It is a variable species, with different populations differing in the leaf shape, colour, growth form and tubercles. Popular varieties include T. minima var. poellnitziana, as well as the opalina and obrata varieties.
It was formerly placed in the genus Haworthia, along with the other large species (H. pumila, H. kingiana and H. marginata) in the "Robustipedunculares" subgenus. Following recent phylogenetic studies, it has been shown that these four species in fact constitute a distinct out-group, separate from other haworthias. They have therefore been classed as a separate genus, Tulista.
As of October 2017[update], the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families does not accept the name Tulista minima. Its synonymy for the earlier combination Haworthia minima regards Haworthia minor as the correct name. On this basis the species should not be transferred to Tulista using the specific epithet minima.
Haworthia opalina has been treated as either part of Haworthia minima or, less often, as a separate species. In the second case, on transfer to Tulista, T. opalina is recognized in addition to T. minima.
The name "minima" simply means "smaller" as it is not as large as its closest relatives, such as "Tulista pumila". In some old records it is also occasionally classed as Haworthia margaritifera. Two main varieties are recognised: the main variety minima, and the rarer variety in the far north-west of its range, poellnitziana (Uitewaal), which has longer slender leaves and grows in gravelly fynbos vegetation.
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