Gasteria species aka ox tongues, are small, strap-leaved succulents that make charming and unique houseplants.
‘Little Warty’ is one of the most common, but there are so many other delightful options too, including those with speckled, variegated, or striped foliage.
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There are approximately 29 different species, along with a seemingly countless number of cultivars and hybrids.
These succulent plants are very easy to hybridize and they can even cross with aloes and haworthias!
Our guide to growing gasterias provides an in depth look at their care needs.
This guide will introduce 23 of the most fabulous types of gasteria succulents commonly found in cultivation.
Ready to get started? Here’s a sneak peek at our list:
If you’re hoping for an unbiased opinion of these succulents, let me warn you that you won’t get that here. I’m a devoted gasteria fanatic!
In addition to describing the features of these plants, I’ll also let you know about any out of the ordinary growing considerations you should be aware of, such as unusual cold tolerance.
1. Acinacifolia
Let’s start with one of the largest species, G. acinacifolia, a plant that reaches two feet tall and wide.
The leaves are green with bands of light green to white spots, and have finely serrated margins and sharp tips.
Known as dune giant gasteria, coast ox tongue, and kus beestong in Afrikaans, the leaves of this species are stemless. The foliage is linear, spear-, strap-, sickle-, or scimitar-shaped.
That last descriptor is what gave rise to the species epithet acinacifolia, which means scimitar leaves.
These clump-forming succulents have smooth or just slightly rough foliage which stands upright or lies flat with tips upcurved. The leaves on juvenile plants are arranged in two opposite rows, but mature into rosettes.
This species bears pink to orange flowers with green tips that bloom from spring to summer.
In its native range, G. acinacifolia grows on coastal dunes or rocky coastal ridges where it is adapted to a mild climate.
This species is not guaranteed to be frost tolerant though some growers report it survives short exposures at temps as low as 25°F.
G. acinacifolia can be grown in a range of light exposures, from full sun to shade but it will be happiest in part sun to light shade – or approximately four hours of direct sun, preferably in the morning.
2. Armstrongii
If G. acinacifolia is a giant among gasterias, this next selection, G. armstrongii, is a gnome.
Sometimes called cow tongue, flat leaf gasteria or platblaar beestong, G. armstrongii has thick, dark green, tongue-shaped leaves covered with light green or brown bumps, giving the plant a rough texture.
Foliage grows curving downward and hugging the soil, in opposite rows on very compact plants that reach up to 10 inches wide and just two inches tall.
They can be either solitary – without offsets – or can form small clumps.
This species is named after a South African plant enthusiast, William Armstrong, and it received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2002.
Formerly classified as G. nitida var. armstrongii, flat leaf gasteria has reddish pink flowers with yellowish green tips that bloom in summer.
In the wild, these slow growing succulents grow flush with the ground, in rocky soils, making them practically unnoticeable.
3. Batesiana
Known as wart leaf gasteria, or knoppies beestong, G. batesiana is most well known for being one of the parents of the famous cultivar ‘Little Warty,’ which you’ll learn more about later in this article.
The foliage of this succulent species is dark green with bands of raised, wart-like, white or light green bumps.
The leaves curve down and have rounded ends, with (surprisingly!) sharp tips, and are extremely rough in texture.
Young leaves are strap-shaped, growing in two opposite rows until the plant matures, when it takes on a rosette shape. Mature leaves are triangular to spear-shaped on clumping plants.
In the wild, this species has lots of variability of shape and texture, but in general they reach three to 12 inches wide and one to four inches tall.
They bear pinkish orange flowers with green tips in spring.
The species name batesiana honors an English trolley conductor by the name of John Bates who happened to be a collector of South African succulents.
G. batesiana received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2002.
In its native range, G. batesiana is a cliff dweller, adapted to frost free winters.
4. Baylissiana
Also known as Suurberg ox tongue, G. baylissiana has tongue shaped leaves that are light gray to dark grayish green to dark bluish green in color.
The foliage has a dull and slightly rough appearance, created by the small grayish white bumps that cover the leaves.
These upright, fan-shaped, plants never take on a rosette shape, instead the leaves remain growing in two opposite rows.
Plants usually grow in clumps that reach one and a half inches to two and a half inches tall, with a spread of around four inches.
Flowers are bright reddish pink with green and white openings, and are usually born in fall.
With a species name that honors an English plant collector by the name of Colonel Roy Bayliss, this species won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2012.
In its native range, this gasteria grows in the crevices of quartz and sandstone rock faces in shade, and is adapted to light frosts.
5. Bicolor
Lawyer’s tongue, classified botanically as G. bicolor or G. obliqua, has medium to dark green, narrow leaves, mottled with creamy spots.
The foliage has a smooth or slightly rough surface with leaf tips that usually take on a pinkish glow.
Leaves are linear or tongue shaped with sharp tips that are off center, on plants that grow upright or lean to one side.
Unlike most other gasteria succulents, this one has stems, which can reach two to eight inches long.
This clumping species reaches 15 to 18 inches tall and six to 12 inches wide, growing in opposite rows or in rosettes that often have an untidy appearance.
It bears flowers that are pink with green tips, blooming in late winter to early spring.
This gasteria can tolerate very light frost, down to about 30°F.
You can purchase lawyer’s tongue gasteria in four-inch pots from Ragnaroc via Walmart.
6. Brachyphylla
Commonly known as short–leaved gasteria, G. brachyphylla has strap-shaped dark green leaves with wavy margins and bands of white spots.
Although juvenile leaves have a rough surface, mature foliage is smooth to the touch.
With upright inner leaves and upcurving outer ones, this species has a fan-like growth habit, reaching three to nine inches wide and one to nine inches tall.
Bearing pink flowers that bloom in spring, this species’ botanical name brachyphylla comes from the Greek word meaning short leaves.
This species is slow growing but easy to cultivate, and is cold hardy to about 30°F.
7. Brevifolia
G. brevifolia succulents are compact, reaching six to eight inches wide and three to five inches tall.
They take on a rosette growth habit as they age, and are made up of short green leaves which inspire the species name, brevifolia, which is Latin for short leaves.
With upright center foliage surrounded by leaves that fan or spiral downward, the leaves of this ox tongue have a rough texture and are covered with white bumps.
This species is currently considered unplaced taxonomically speaking and there’s no certainty about where its native range is or was.
Nonetheless, general gasteria care will keep G. brevifolia in good health.
This plant bears pink flowers in spring.
8. Carinata
Known as Bredasdorp gasteria or keeled ox tongue, G. carinata specimens display a lot of variability in surface pattern, shape, and size.
Usually the leaves are triangular to spear-shaped with sharp tips, and are a dull, medium to dark green color with white warts.
The undersides of the leaves are either rounded or keeled, like the bottom of a boat. This feature is what inspired the botanical name carinata.
These clumping gasterias are stemless, spreading from six inches to two feet wide and with a height of just over one inch to up to seven inches tall. The center leaves are upright while those surrounding them curve upwards.
This species bears pink to salmon colored flowers from winter to late spring, and is cold hardy to about 30°F.
You can find starter plants available via Amazon.
9. Disticha
Commonly known as Great Karoo ox tongue, G. disticha has strap-shaped leaves arranged in two opposite rows.
This arrangement is what inspires the plant’s species name, disticha, which means two lines.
Green leaves feature bands of dense white spots on both sides, and each leaf has a rounded end with a sharp point.
The foliage has a rough texture with toothed leaf margins, and is often slightly wavy.
These plants have a clumping growth habit and are fairly large, reaching one to two feet tall and wide. The newer, center leaves grow upright, while the older outer leaves fan downwards.
In its native habitat, this gasteria grows among shrubs and rocky outcrops.
This slow grower bears pink to reddish pink flowers with green tips from winter to spring, and is cold hardy to 25°F.
10. Excelsa
Known as thicket gasteria, thicket ox tongue, regal ox tongue, or ruigte beestong, G. excelsa has green leaves flecked with large, indistinct spots.
The leaves are triangular and form spiky rosettes on mature plants, but are arranged in two opposite rows in juveniles.
Also, while juvenile leaves are rough, adult foliage is smooth – but both have sharp edges.
These succulent plants reach two to two and a half feet wide and one to two feet tall, and are more likely to grow as solitary rosettes than as clumps.
Light pink to white in color, flowers are borne in summer on towering inflorescences that reach over six feet tall – inspiring the species name excelsa, meaning lofty.
In the wild, this species makes its home on shady subtropical cliff faces and in thickets.
11. Flow
‘Flow’ is an interspecies hybrid, classified as x Gasteraloe, denoting a cross between G. carinata var. verrucosa and an unknown Aloe or Aristaloe species.
This cultivar has thick, triangular leaves that are emerald green with white warts. The leaf tips come to a sharp point and leaf margins are serrated.
Exhibiting a clumping growth habit, ‘Flow’ plants form six- to eight-inch tall and eight-inch wide spiky rosettes.
x Gasteraloe ‘Flow,’ a cross between a gasteria and a close relative from another genus.
‘Flow’ has coral flowers that lack the little stomachs of true gasteria blooms, and are instead tubular.
Although it’s an intergeneric hybrid, growing requirements are the same as for gasterias.
You can find ‘Flow’ in four-gallon pots from the SD Succulent Growers Store via Amazon.
12. Frosty
‘Frosty’ is a variegated gasteria cultivar whose foliage is heavily streaked with white, light green, or silver on a background of medium green with white spots.
While its true origins are uncertain, some say ‘Frosty’ was a sport, or naturally occurring mutation of G. brachyphylla.
Upright or horizontal leaves are arranged in two opposite rows, on fan-shaped, clumping plants that grow seven to eight inches wide and six to eight inches tall.
The flowers of ‘Frosty’ are coral with green tips, blooming in spring.
13. Fuji Yuki
A variegated cultivar, ‘Fuji Yuki’ has fat leaves shaped like tongues. These upright or upcurving leaves have serrated edges and are dark green streaked with white, cream, silver, or yellow.
Possibly a cultivar of G. nitida, these succulents have a clumping growth habit, forming two opposite rows, or taking on a slight spiral to almost rosette growth habit.
They reach three to 10 inches wide and up to five inches tall.
With a name that means the snow of Mount Fuji, ‘Fuji Yuki’ has reddish pink flowers.
Want to add some snow to your houseplant collection?
Purchase your own ‘Fuji Yuki’ plants in 3.5-inch pots from Planet Desert via Amazon.
14. Glauca
With the common names Kouga River gasteria and Kouga beestong, G. glauca has fat, strap-shaped leaves with sharp tips that grow in two opposite rows when young, taking on a rosette form at maturity.
Overall, the leaves convey a grayish green or bluish green effect – the foliage is actually green but thickly covered with pale bumps, giving it a rough texture and paler color.
There are even tubercles on the leaf margins.
These gasterias grow in clumps with lots of offsets, creating dense clusters that reach 10 inches wide and three to four inches tall.
Inner leaves grow upright while older leaves spread horizontally and curve downwards.
The flowers of G. glauca are pink to reddish pink with greenish yellow to yellow tips. The species name glauca refers to the blueish green foliage.
These cliff dwellers originate from a warm, temperate, and humid climate, and do not tolerate frost.
15. Glomerata
G. glomerata features thick, short, tongue- or strap-shaped leaves that are grayish green or blueish green. These leaves have rounded or squared off ends with sharply pointed tips.
Commonly known as Kouga gasteria or Kouga beestong – just like G. glauca – the texture of the foliage is rough, covered with tiny tubercles, but no spots.
These succulents don’t form rosettes as they mature, but instead the leaves remain in two opposite rows.
However, they are prolific offset producers, forming dense clumps that have a rounded, mounding appearance, with plants reaching about four inches tall and one foot wide.
The species name glomerata, which means clustered, refers to the densely clumping growth habit of this gasteria, which produces reddish pink to orange flowers with green openings in spring.
G. glomerata grows on rocky quartz and sandstone cliffs, and is adapted to hot summers and mild winters.
16. Gracilis
G. gracilis is not formally recognized as a member of the Gasteria genus but it is nonetheless out there in the horticultural world and is frequently sold by succulent sellers.
These gasterias display a lot of variability – plants can have spear-, strap-, or tongue-shaped leaves that are upright to upcurved, and may be green with speckles, grayish green, or pale green tinged with yellowish pink.
They tend to be two to three inches wide and about three and a half to four inches tall.
With a species name that means graceful or slender, the flowers of G. gracilis can bloom any time of the year, but generally do so in the middle of winter through spring.
17. Green Ice
‘Green Ice’ is another intergeneric hybrid like ‘Flow,’ described above.
Some say ‘Green Ice’ is a hybrid of Gonialoe variegata and a Gasteria, while others claim it’s a cross between Gasteria cultivars ‘Little Warty’ or ‘Old Man Silver’ and Aloe descoingsii.
Whatever the truth of its parentage, the botanical name is x Gasteraloe ‘Green Ice.’
‘Green Ice’ has triangular leaves in dark green with wide, silvery to light green margins held on compact, spiky, clumping rosettes. The leaves are flecked with striking, high contrast white spots.
When exposed to intense light, foliage takes on a paler, pinkish hue.
These clumping plants reach eight to 12 inches tall and wide. They start off growing in a fan-like shape, but as they mature they take on a whorled growth habit.
Flowers are tubular, pinkish red at the base, and yellowish green at the mouth.
You can find ‘Green Ice’ starter plants in two-and-a-half-inch pots from Hirt’s Gardens via Walmart.
18. Liliputana
A naturally occurring variety of one of the species we have already encountered, G. bicolor var. liliputana may be the smallest gasteria out there!
G. bicolor var. liliputana has narrow leaves that are smooth and shiny, and dark green with light spots.
These succulents have a densely clumping growth habit, and can reach just one to four inches tall and wide, displaying foliage that mostly curves down and is arranged in a spiral.
This recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2012 has flowers that are reddish pink and can appear all year long, but are borne most often in winter and spring.
The variety name liliputana refers to the tiny, lilliputian nature of this gasteria, inspired by the fictional island of Lilliput from Jonathan Swift’s book, “Gulliver’s Travels.”
In this gasteria’s native range, G. bicolor var. liliputana grows in rocky soils, is adapted to summer rain and dry winters, and is hardy to about 30°F.
Live Gasteria Liliputana Plant
You can purchase a live G. bicolor var. liliputana plant in a four-inch pot from Planet Desert via Amazon.
19. Little Warty
Certainly the most iconic of all the gasterias, ‘Little Warty’ has it all – variegation, stripes, bumps, and plenty of offsets.
This cultivar is a cross between G. batesiana, mentioned above, and cultivar by the name of ‘Old Man Silver.’
Good luck finding ‘Old Many Silver’ now – ‘Little Warty’ now tops the popularity charts!
There’s plenty of variability, but what you’ll usually find is a succulent with mostly upright leaves, streaked with light green or silver on a dark green background, and speckled with tiny spots.
The leaves are strap shaped to triangular, with sharp points on the tips, and are covered with small bumps, which give the plant its cultivar name.
The foliage is either arranged in two opposite rows, or in a partial or full rosette shape.
‘Little Warty’ produces offsets which give the plant a clumping growth habit, with a height of six to eight inches and an eight-inch spread.
A winner of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 2012, the flowers are pink, and can appear at any time from late winter through summer.
You can purchase ‘Little Warty’ plants from the Succulents Box Store in your choice of a two- or four-inch, clay or plastic pot via Amazon.
Learn more about ‘Little Warty’ here.
20. Marmorata Variegata
G. marmorata variegata is another gasteria with a bit of an identity crisis, but since she’s so beautiful, I’m including her anyway.
This succulent has triangular strap-shaped leaves that are patterned with a veil of grooved, white and silver vertical stripes, covering a background of dark green and bands of white dots.
These variegated leaves look like they were hewn from marble – thus the name marmorata, with the foliage growing upright to spreading and curving up at the ends.
This gasteria is sometimes classified as G. nigricans var. marmorata f. variegata.
Unfortunately for those of us hoping to create order from chaos, G. nigricans is now considered a synonym of G. disticha, encountered earlier in the article.
So it seems that the name G. marmorata may be applied to at least two different plants.
If you have one of these variegated ox tongues, to have a better idea of its species, you’ll need to wait until the specimen is mature.
Observe whether its growth habit is in in two opposite rows – which would suggest a variegated form of G. disticha – or as a rosette, which might indicate that it is a form of G. nitida.
21. Mini Rainbow
‘Mini Rainbow’ is a compact, variegated G. brachyphylla var. bayeri cultivar with short, fat leaves in light to medium green with thin streaks of dark green and orangish-pink variegation.
The foliage is smooth, speckled with light dots, and has pinkish leaf margins.
The diminutive leaves are held in fan shape, on clumping plants.
The flowers of ‘Mini Rainbow’ are pink and bloom in the spring.
To encourage the pink variegation, provide a few hours of direct sunlight in the morning, or use a grow light.
22. Pillansii
Commonly known as Namaqua ox tongue, G. pillansii has strap-shaped leaves that are wide, flat, and green, mottled with bands of white spots.
The foliage grows in a mostly upright, fan-like arrangement, and the plant produces dense clusters with its offsets.
These succulents are variable in size, ranging from just two to eight inches tall, and two to 15 inches wide.
With a species name that honors South African botanist Neville Stuart Pillans, G. pillansii has tubular shaped reddish pink flowers with yellowish green openings that are borne from summer through autumn.
You’ll find Namaqua ox tongue specimens in four-inch pots available from the Fat Plants San Diego store via Amazon.
23. Shozoden
Our final selection, ‘Shozoden,’ bears dark green leaves dotted with white, brightened by a lovely yellow variegation, and arranged in compact fan shapes.
Also known as G. minima ‘Variegata Yellow,’ these densely clumping plants are two to three inches tall and have a spread of six to eight inches.
There’s a great deal of confusion as to which species this cultivar is bred from. Some botanists list it as a cultivar of either G. gracilis or G. minima, both species with their own identity crises!
Whatever this gasteria’s true taxonomical identity, this variegated succulent is likely a nursery produced cultivar.
The flowers of ‘Shozoden’ are reddish pink with green mouths, and bloom from the middle of winter through spring.
You can purchase ‘Shozoden’ plants in two-inch pots from Yunakesa via Amazon.
And So Many More
This is just the tip of the gasteria iceberg!
There are many more fascinating species, gorgeous varieties, and perplexing cultivars out there, but this selection should give you an idea of the variety found in the Gasteria genus.
Did I leave out any of your favorite gasterias? Are you trying to identify one of your own? Let us know, and feel free to drop your gasteria houseplant photos in the comments section below!
Want to keep digging into the wonderful world of succulents? We have more articles for you right here:
Wow, that is a fantastic overview of the Gasteria, really impressive. Many thanks for this great work!
Hi Wolfgang, thanks so much, I’m glad you enjoyed reading this. I certainly enjoyed writing it!
May i ask if you know what kind of succulent this i?
Is it of the Gasteria family by any chance ?
Very beautiful, just saw it today
Thank you
Norm
Hi Norman,
Thanks for the photo and question. No, it’s not a gasteria, it’s a fan aloe, and I agree that they are beautiful. We have an article about fan aloe right here!