All you wanted to know about Haworthias, Gasterias and Astrolobas: Haworthia decipiens var. cyanea

Haworthia decipiens var. cyanea, Merweville

Haworthia decipiens var. cyanea M.B.Bayer

cyanea: blue.

H. decipiens var. cyanea belongs to decipiens group. It is smaller with incurving leaves and has bluish-green colouration. It remains usually solitairy. There are several "new" names of this group, I keep all of them under this variety till I will be sure, what to do with them. Only exception is H. jansenvillensis from Jansenville area, which is very easy to distinguish. See it´s own article on this web.

Distribution map

The main distribution area is from Uniondale, where it is connected to H. cooperi (this population is called H. cooperi 'harryi' sensu Breuer and Hayashi - see separed article). In Willowmore area it co-occurs with normal decipiens, where decipiens prefers flat areas or on low slopes and var. cyanea grows on steep slopes in rocks much higher. Size, spination and colour is good sign how to distinguish them. The North border of occurence is Merweville area. There has been several "new species" described recently, for example amethysta, scottiana, ianthina, tooris, incrassa or virginea. I group them all under var. cyanea, till their "validity" will be prooved.

H. decipiens var. cyanea is not much widespread in cultivation, which is a pity, because it is a very attractive species. Cultivation is same as with H. decipiens and propagation should be done by seed.