Species library › Haworthia › Haworthia emelyae
Succulents Well documented

Haworthia emelyae

A 'retuse' Haworthia from the Little Karoo of South Africa's Western Cape, prized for the bulging, windowed leaf tips marked with fine, often pinkish veins and speckles. In the wild it sits almost flush with the ground, with only the flattened leaf ends exposed. Grow it bright but not scorched, with water in the cooler months and a dry, shaded rest in the hottest part of summer.

Haworthia emelyae
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Gravel and stony flats and slopes in the arid Little Karoo, where plants sit sunk in the soil with only their translucent leaf windows at the surface, often in the shelter of small shrubs or rocks. Wikipedia places it roughly between Oudtshoorn and Vanwyksdorp; GBIF localities include Ladismith, Zandkraal, Drielingskloof and Georgida.

The Little Karoo valleys where it grows lie at roughly 300–900 m; GBIF records carry no altitudes, so this is an estimate.

South Africa (Western Cape, Little Karoo)

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.