Haworthia retusa

A compact rosette succulent up to about 10 cm tall with thick, sharply recurved, triangular leaves whose flattened, translucent tips act as windows. It is endemic to a narrow area of the southern Cape of South Africa around Riversdale, from Bredasdorp to Mossel Bay, where it grows sunk into the ground among low vegetation. It wants bright but not scorching light, a free-draining gritty mix and a mild climate without hard frost.

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

Lower hills and flatter ground on the Agulhas coastal plain and its inland margins, usually among low shrubs and grasses in renosterveld and fynbos-type vegetation. Plants sit partly buried with the flat, windowed leaf tips level with the soil surface, which shades the leaf bodies and lets light enter through the windows.

Few records carry an elevation. The recorded sites (about 33.9–34.4°S, 20.8–21.6°E) lie on the coastal plain and low hills, mostly below a few hundred metres.

South Africa: Western Cape, around Riversdale between Bredasdorp and Mossel Bay

🔒 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.