16 Different Types of Haworthia With Names and Pictures

Haworthia are wonderful, small succulent plants that are native to Southern Africa. They are quite similar to Aloe and Echeveria in terms of their care needs. This means that given a sunny spot and occasional watering, they are easy to grow and care for.

The small size and ease of care make Haworthia great houseplants. However, they do like to live outdoors as much as possible, so this is a great plant to keep outside in the warmer months and bring in to sit near a sunny window when the weather cools. In climates that don’t experience freezing weather, these plants can be kept outdoors year-round or planted in the ground.

Haworthia are slow growing and appreciate some fertilizing in the spring to kick off their active growing season. During their growing months, they like to be watered regularly, as long as they are kept in a well-draining container. Let’s explore some different varieties of this pretty little plant.

Baker Haworthia

Scientific Name: Haworthia bolusii

• Bloom Time: Late Spring
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Baker, or bolusii haworthia, looks like a fuzzy, plump, round ball. The leaves of this variety are arranged in a neat rosette. Unlike many varieties, the leaves of this type of haworthia are thinner and more delicate. They are light green with a slight translucence to them.

The most interesting feature of bolusii are the fine, hairlike spines that cover the back and edges of the inward curving leaves. This makes the entire plant appear hairy. These spines protect the plant from intense sun and heat.

Baker produces tall inflorescences, up to 20” tall, in spring. These flower spikes are slender and support delicate white flowers with reddish-brown veins.

Cathedral Window

Scientific Name: Haworthia cymbiformis

• Bloom Time: Late Spring
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Also called Boat-Formed Haworthia, Cathedral Window is a very attractive and nicely shaped variety.  Its 4-inch-wide rosettes are nicely shaped and uniform. They produce many offsets, quickly becoming a mound of these pretty flower-like shapes.

In late spring, Cathedral is a succulent that produces flowers. Each rosette sends up an inflorescence of about 8” tall. The flowers are tubular and pale pink with greenish-brown veining. The leaves blush when exposed to a lot of direct sunlight, giving the edges a faint pink coloration.

Crowded Haworthia

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis coarctata

• Bloom Time: Late Spring
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Called Crowded Haworthia for its tendency to produce copious amounts of offsets, this variety makes an excellent filler plant, as it will quickly fill in any empty spaces available to it. Coarctata grows in a tight rosette formation, growing taller than it does wide. The leaves curl inward at the ends, keeping the plant compact.

Coarctata will turn red and purple when happily stressed. This happens in both direct sunlight as well as cooler weather. In spring, it will produce tall flower spikes with tiny, greenish-white, tube-shaped flowers. The fleshy leaves of Crowded Haworthia are speckled with small white bumps in a striated pattern.

Concolor

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis attenuata ‘Concolor’

• Bloom Time: Late Spring
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

This variety is a great beginner plant for new gardeners. It thrives on neglect, making it exceptionally easy to care for. Concolor is a very attractive variety with longer, more slender leaves that are bright lime green in the center, gradually turning darker toward the edges. The leaves are covered in white speckles, which are more concentrated at the margins.

Haworthia, in general, are very heat tolerant, but they have their dormant period in the middle of summer, so they slow their growth when the temperature gets high enough to stress new growth. Concolor produces thin flower spikes in spring, and its blooms are small and white.

Cooper’s Haworthia

Scientific Name:  Haworthia cooperi

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Cooper’s Haworthia is a fun species with leaves that have a translucent appearance, particularly near the ends. These plump, juicy leaves look like they are filled with Jell-O. They are light green with deeper green, longitudinal veining. The translucence of these plants allows light to pass through, giving it a special glow when it is backlit.

This species likes indirect, bright light but isn’t particularly fond of full, direct sun exposure. In nature, it grows best in partial shade. This makes it perfect as a houseplant. The ideal exposure is 3-4 hours of direct sun in the morning and protection in the afternoon.

Fairies Washboard

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis limifolia

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

This cute species of Haworthia is fast-growing, but remains relatively small, hence the reference to tiny woodland creatures. Fairies Washboard comes in regular and variegated varieties, ranging in colors from dark green to nearly yellow. The variegated variety is particularly fun, with brilliant yellow, longitudinal striping.

The leaves of this species grow in a slightly spiraling rosette, a uniquely whimsical characteristic. Horizontal ridges run the width of the leaves from base to tip, making this a very texturally interesting plant.

In non-variegated varieties, yellowing of the leaves implies a greater need for sunlight. Limifolia grows mostly during the summer months, which is when the plant will need the most water.

Horse’s Teeth

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis truncata

• Bloom Time: Late Spring
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

As the scientific name implies, the leaves of this species appear to be truncated or cut off mid-leaf. The tops of the leaves are flat, with an overall rectangular appearance, not unlike that of a horse’s teeth. Rather than a rosette formation, these truncated leaves grow in tight rows.

A simple way to determine whether this plant is getting the right amount of sunlight is the color of the leaves. If stressed by too much sun, the leaves will blush and ultimately turn yellow or white. Protection from the hot midday sun is what this plant likes. It produces long flower stalks with white blooms in late springtime.

Koelmaniorum Haworthia

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis koelmaniorum

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

The most striking feature of Koelmaniorum is the color of its leaves. While most Haworthia are shades of green and blush in the sun, this one starts out a deep reddish-brown color. The leaves are thick and fleshy, with a crackled appearance on top. The appearance isn’t unlike an aging piece of red clay or painted metal.

This succulent species likes lower light conditions. Partial shade is best, although more light will intensify the colors. Koelmaniorum is slow growing and needs more watering in spring and fall as these are the periods of most growth.

The flower stalks are uniquely colored, olive green with a red cast, and the flowers are small, tubular, and white with reddish brown stripes.

Moon Shadow

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis bayeri

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Shade
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Moon Shadow is one of the more cold-tolerant species of Haworthia. It also prefers less light than many other species. It is a mid-summer bloomer that produces tall flower spikes with white flowers.

This species is most sought after for its uniquely patterned leaves.  The leaves are flattened on top and have a similar translucence to Cooper’s.

They are a deeper green color with a touch of red to the tips, which intensifies in direct sunlight. The leaves also have a white veining pattern, adding another level of depth. This is a very attractive and desirable variety.

Paper Rose

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis arachnoidea

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Paper Rose is a small Haworthia that grows in a dense rosette and has long, narrow leaves that come to a point at the tips. The edges of the leaves are covered in translucent hairlike spines, giving the plant the fuzzy appearance of many of its cousins.

In summer, this species sports small white flowers, similar to other species. After the flowers fall, Paper Rose closes up, pulling its leaves together at the top. This begins the plant’s dormant period, so watering should be done sparingly. This species has light green leaves, and it prefers partial shade.

Robust Haworthia

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis viscosa

• Bloom Time: Fall
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Viscosa is a unique and interesting Haworthia with its triangular leaves and tendency to grow taller over time rather than remaining short and spreading widthwise. The leaves are olive green with a reddish-brown tint.

From the side, they appear to be neatly stacked one upon another. From the top, the rosette formation is apparent, but the shape is triangular rather than rounded.

This species is a food source for local grazing animals. It grows in large clumps, but in the wild, animals tend to control the spread. Robust Haworthia likes full sun and rewards you with intensified coloration. It produces flowers in fall rather than summer, like most species.

Star Cactus

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis retusa

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Haworthia retusa has translucence to its leaves, similar to Cooper’s. The leaves are somewhat delicate, but they are very pretty and unique. The rosette in this species tends to be star-shaped, with fleshy, pointed leaves that are short and flattened out on the top. These light green leaves have more translucence at the ends, which face up to the sky.

This species, like most, will reward its grower by blushing with lots of direct sun. The blushing begins at the outer edges and gives a rainbow, ombre effect to the entire plant. Retusa can grow quite tall, compared to other species, and produces white flowers in mid-summer.

Striata

Scientific Name: Haworthia attenuata ‘Striata’

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

This variety of the species attenuata strongly resembles a miniature aloe plant. The leaves are long and spiked at the ends. Striata refers to the bumpy, white stripes that run latitudinally over the entire length of the leaves.

This variety has better cold tolerance than some and can survive outdoors to 23°F. This is unusual, as most varieties are not frost-tolerant. The potential exists to keep this plant outdoors to zone 8, but a hard freeze will damage the fleshy leaves.

Window Haworthia

Scientific Name: Haworthia obtusa

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

If you guessed that this species has those pretty, translucent leaves, you’re right! Obtusa or Window Haworthia, resemble a cluster of pale green bubbles from overhead.

The tightly clustered leaves are rounded on top and grow in a rosette. The tops are translucent with deeper green veining, which gets more concentrated near the base of the plant.

This species has a wide range of color variation, with blue “Crystal” being quite beautiful and popular. There are also pale green to brown variations and a pretty pink variety as well, all with signature bubble-like leaves.

Zebra Plant

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis fasciata

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

As the name suggests, the leaves of this species are heavily striped and high contrast. A tight cluster of deep green leaves grows upward initially and then opens to reveal a larger star shape. The leaves have white, latitudinal ridges that run their length, giving the plant a fun, bicolor appearance.

Zebra Haworthia is not cold tolerant below 30°F and will need to be brought inside in a freeze of any kind. This species also prefers partial sunlight to full. A bright window will suit well. If grown outdoors, this species will produce a long flower spike topped with pink flowers in the summer.

Zebra Wart

Scientific Name: Haworthiopsis reinwardtii

• Bloom Time: Summer
• Geographical Location: Africa
• Sun Exposure: Part Sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

Zebra Wart has an unappealing name, but it’s actually quite a cute little plant. The coloring is similar to Zebra Plant. But rather than forming stripes, the white raised areas are small dots all over the leaves. These dots appear in horizontal lines, but they are close enough together than they appear random from a distance.

Instead of the long, narrow leaves of Zebra Plant, Zebra Wart has shorter, pointed leaves that grow upward in a tightly clustered, spiraling rosette. It is also known as African Pearls, a decidedly more attractive name. This species likes bright, indirect light and makes a nice houseplant.