In 1958, the inaugural year of the ISI distributions, this plant was offered as ISI 102. It was the type clone from G.G. Smith, originating from the banks of the Chalumna River, 30 mi W of East London, E. Cape, S. Africa. The Huntington received the plant from the ISI in April, 1965, and accessioned it as HBG 18189. When I visited the former Sheilam Cactus Farm in Robertson, S. Africa in 2002, I was excited to see this plant offered. I hoped that it would be another clone of this very attractive variety, with clean, symmetrical, columnar stacks of leaves ornamented with white tubercles. It came from the same locality as ISI 102 but without specific information as to collector. We began to propagate the new accession for eventual distribution. After growing both accessions all these years, it appears that they may be identical clones. However, that hypothesis awaits confirmation someday with DNA fingerprinting. In the meantime, we have a nice crop of this very attractive Haworthia and offer divisions of HBG 120301, from Sheilam nursery in 2002, originally collected along the banks of the Chalumna River, 30 mi W of East London, E. Cape, S. Africa. $10.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 95 (2), Summer 2023