Genus of flowering plants From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tulista is a small genus of succulent plants endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.[1] They were formerly included within the genus Haworthia.
| Tulista | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tulista marginata | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Tribe: | Aloeae |
| Genus: | Tulista Raf. |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The genus is characterised by a large size (relative to other haworthias), by their stemless rosette growth form, by the yellow exudate in their non-fibrous leaves,[2] and by their distinctive flowers with robust peduncles.
The genus Haworthia was long considered problematic, and suspected of being polyphyletic. It was accordingly divided into three different subgenera: Haworthia (the soft, green, leafy, and often retuse species); Hexangulares (the harder, often tubercled species); Robustipedunculares (the four largest, most robust species). Several phylogenetic studies have confirmed this division, and shown that Haworthia actually comprises three clades that are only distantly related.[3] Based on phylogenetic evidence, in 2013, Gordon Rowley revived the genus Tulista, first erected by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1840, but long consigned to synonymy with Haworthia.[4] However, Rowley adopted a very broad concept of Tulista, in which as well as Haworthia subgenus Robustipedunculares, the genus included Astroloba and Aloe aristata (now Aristaloe aristata), among other taxa. Later in 2013, this broad concept was rejected by Manning et al. later, and Tulista re-circumscribed to consist of four species,[3] a decision supported by Gildenhuys and Klopper in 2016.[5] Rowley has subsequently defended his original approach to the genus, though it is no longer widely accepted.[6] The same phylogenetic studies suggested that the closest relatives of Tulista were the genera Astroloba and Gonialoe.[3]
In 2014, Manning et al. recognized four species in the genus Tulista,[3] all accepted by Plants of the World Online as of May 2023[update].[1] All four species are highly variable, each with many different forms.
Some of the many varieties of the four species in this genus:
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