Faucaria
Faucaria is a small genus of clumping, leaf-succulent mesembs ("mesembs") native to South Africa, best known for the rows of soft, whisker-like teeth along the margins of its fat triangular leaves — an arrangement that gives each pair of leaves the look of a gaping mouth and earns the plants the common names tiger jaws, tiger's jaw and shark jaws. In autumn the compact rosettes are crowned with large, glossy yellow daisy-like flowers that seem oversized for such little plants.
Description
Faucaria plants are dwarf, stemless succulents that form tight clusters of paired, opposite leaves. Each leaf is thick and boat-shaped — broadly triangular in outline, keeled beneath and flattened above — and typically a few centimetres long. The defining feature is the fringe of teeth along the leaf margins: soft, tapering, sometimes hair-tipped projections that interlock between the opposing leaves so that a pair resembles a pair of open jaws. Depending on the species the surface may be plain green, flecked with pale dots (tubercles), or take on reddish and bronze tones in strong light.
New leaf pairs emerge at right angles to the last, as in many mesembs, and old plants build up into low, congested mounds. The flowers appear from the centre of a rosette in autumn, usually a single bloom at a time: many-petalled, silky and bright yellow (occasionally with white or orange tints), opening in the afternoon sunshine and closing again toward evening over the course of several days.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is endemic to South Africa, centred on the Eastern Cape but extending west into the Western Cape and the adjoining semi-arid Karoo interior, where the plants grow among grass, gravel and rock in seasonally dry scrub and karroid veld. They often sit nestled between stones or tucked under the light shade of surrounding vegetation, drawing on summer, winter or year-round rainfall depending on locality, and enduring long dry spells by drawing down on the water stored in their swollen leaves.
Notable species
- Faucaria tigrina — the classic "tiger jaws", with strongly toothed, white-dotted leaves; the species most often sold under the tiger-jaw name.
- Faucaria felina — "cat's jaws", narrower-leaved and more slender-toothed.
- Faucaria bosscheana — a smoother, milder-toothed species with a somewhat glossy leaf.
- Faucaria gratiae — compact, with broad, minimally toothed leaves that can flush purplish in sun.
Species boundaries in Faucaria have been repeatedly revised and many older names are now treated as synonyms or lumped together, so plants circulate in the hobby under a tangle of labels. When identification matters, flower and leaf detail on mature, well-grown plants are the most reliable guide.
Cultivation
Faucaria are among the easier mesembs to grow and make good beginner succulents. Give them bright light — a sunny windowsill or a spot in the greenhouse — with only light shade from the most searing midday sun, which keeps the rosettes compact and encourages autumn flowering. Plant in a gritty, very free-draining, mostly mineral mix in a pot that drains freely.
Water is the main thing to get right. These are more forgiving of moisture than many mesembs, but they still rot if kept wet in a heavy soil. Water thoroughly when the soil has dried out during the active growing period, then ease off as the plant rests; keep them much drier and cool through the coldest, darkest part of winter. Protect from hard frost — they tolerate a light chill if bone dry but are not reliably hardy. See Watering and Repotting for general technique.
Propagation
Faucaria clumps readily, so the simplest method is division: lift a congested plant, tease apart the rooted heads and pot them up separately, letting any cuts dry before watering. Individual leaf pairs or small offsets can also be rooted much like offsets and cuttings. The plants set seed freely too, and seed comes up easily on a warm, gritty surface kept lightly moist — see Propagation - seed for a full walkthrough.
Hobby and cultivar notes
In collections Faucaria are prized for their sculptural, toothy leaves and cheerful autumn flowers, and they pack a lot of character into a small pot. Because plants are so easily raised from seed and division, they are cheap and widely available. Named horticultural selections are few compared with showier genera, but growers do seek out particularly heavily toothed forms and variegated plants, the latter being slower and needing a touch more shade to avoid scorching their paler tissue. Their toothy jaws also make them a popular, undemanding choice for children's succulent collections and dish gardens.
See also
- Aizoaceae — the ice-plant / mesemb family
- Faucaria tigrina · Faucaria felina
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Repotting
- Propagation - seed · Propagation - offsets · Pests and diseases