Faucaria tigrina (Haw.) Schwantes
This somewhat ferocious-looking succulent gets its name, tiger-jaws, from the appearance of the toothed, triangular shaped leaves which seem to drip with 'saliva' and are held ajar in a menacing poise. The eye-catching leaves, together with the large yellow flowers, certainly make this plant a striking addition to the home as a potted plant or as a feature in a rockery garden.
Description
Faucaria tigrina is a small, stemless succulent, about 80mm in diameter. The triangularly shaped leaves arise in pairs from the centre of the plant and bear long soft, threadlike teeth along the margins. The leaves vary in colour in response to sunlight, from light to dark green, or pinkish red to purple. Small white spots decorate the leaves and give it a rough surface. Sometimes the old leaves can form a kind of stem in older specimens.
Derivation of name and historical aspects
The first documented discovery of Faucaria tigrina was during an expedition in 1789 by Francis Masson, who was sent to the Cape by the King of England to collect plants for Kew Royal Botanical Gardens. The specimens of F. tigrina were sent to Adrian Haworth, a gardener at Kew, who recognised them as a new species. The genus name comes from the Latin word faux meaning jaw and tigrina for tiger. The genus has 33 species in total, all occurring within the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.
Ecology
The long, white, sabre-like teeth of Faucaria tigrina are actually not used for defence at all. The threadlike structures are special adaptations that help to collect water vapour from the surrounding air and direct it down toward the roots of the plant. Fog blows in from the coast to provide water vapour, a precious water source for plants surviving in the hot, subtropical thickets of the Eastern Cape.
