Haworthiopsis fasciata

The Little Zebra Plant is a small, rare, succulent houseplant native to South Africa. It is small in size with a rosette of stiff, opaque, linear leaves with bottoms that are covered in attractive white spots. The plant is a species of the Haworthiopsis genus that formerly included species that have been moved to the Haworthia genus, a distinction that generally depends on the characteristics of their leaves. In general, succulants in the Haworthiopsis genus have opaque, linear leaves, either basal or rosette, with white spots on the back of the leaves. On some species, these spots are joined to form bands, as found on the Little Zebra Plant. Haworthia, on the other hand, tend to have translucent epidermal windows on the tops of the leaves. Note that the divisions among these genus are still being debated. For example, Haworthiopsis attenuata is often mistaken for or mislabeled as this plant– they can be distinguished by the fact that H. fasciata has smooth surfaces on the upper leaves.

The Little Zebra Plant is a slow growing succulent, but has a long life span of up to 50 years. In the wild, these plants grow in very harsh conditions and are commonly found buried in sand. For gardeners, they are easy to grow, preferring a well-draining soil mix. While the plant is somewhat tolerant of low-light conditions, it prefers full sun or bright direct light, which also produces the best colors in the leaves. Little Zebra Plant produces pups and offsets and, to propagate these plants, separate the pups or remove the offshoots from the parent plant.

Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems:

Excessive watering can cause root rot. If it receives too much sunlight, it will turn a deep red showing it is stressed or turn white and dry up.

VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Houseplants, Succulents, and Cacti", a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.