Gasteria disticha aka Ox Tongue

Gasteria disticha belongs to the Asphodelaceae family. It is a succulent, a plant that stores water. It is also a perennial, living for more than two years. Gardeners know it as cow-tongue gasteria. It grows wild in the southwestern and south-central Cape region. Kew places it in a subtropical climate. The RHS gives the same native range. It is not native to Britain or Ireland. The RHS lists Gasteria obtusifolia as another name for it. LLIFLE also lists that name under this species.

Chicago Botanic Garden says this plant has a creeping form. It calls it a perennial, as Kew does. These records give no height or spread at full size. They give no leaf size or markings for this species. The RHS describes leaves and flowers for the genus. A genus is a group of closely related species. Those traits may not all apply to this species. The supplied species records say little about its exact form.

Chicago gives January to February as the time of bloom. It lists pink and green as flower colours. This garden record does not set bloom times for every climate. The evidence gives no facts about fruit or seed. Chicago also says the plant draws butterflies to it. It does not name the kinds that visit the flowers. Nor does it show which animals pollinate this species. These animals move pollen between flowers.

Chicago lists full sun and partial shade for growing it. Its soil entry calls for dry soil, not a soil type. It places the plant in USDA zones 10–11. It gives no exact lowest safe temperature or British hardiness rating. The evidence sets no watering plan or soil pH. Another LLIFLE page gives detailed care notes for a different taxon. Those notes cannot show this species' frost limits or care needs.

Chicago suggests growing the plant as a garden specimen. It also notes that it resists deer and draws butterflies. These are the clearest garden uses in the supplied species records. Those records give no pest or disease details for this species. They give no basis for judging how easy care is. None shows which parts people can eat or use as medicine. Nor do they show it is safe for people or pets. A lack of safety facts does not mean it is harmless.