Haworthia emelyae var. multifolia

Haworthia emelyae may be better placed within H. correcta or H. picta according to Scott (1985). This means that all the described varieties of the species, including var. multifolia shown here, may also be affected by revisions still to come.

But that is true to some extent for every plant at all times. Knowledge will increase and opinions disputed as long as there are people interested in living plants; and as long as plants continue to evolve in ecologies that live, therefore change.

Every gardener, observer, student and scientist lives in a particular era, using the names, concepts and techniques of that era: Haworthia, emelyae, picta and multifolia are all taxa of our time, to be retained or discarded in the future. Innovation crafted by every individual in its era stands a chance of being used and remembered, used in random pockets by interested people over longer or shorter time ranges, or not at all.

Every observer, every botanist may feel free to name, describe, analyse and conclude in accordance with the impact of previously learnt knowledge and the new thoughts. This free feeling in the individual or team is impacted upon by culture, education, conventions, dogma, polemic and personality, rendering outcomes useful or correct, biased, wrong or irrelevant; without insight into the weaknesses.

A man sometimes sees what he is or what he needs, instead of what is before his eyes. Plato trusted his eyes less than the people who have never studied him trust theirs. Complications in the thinking, conclusions and ego inflation that may follow observation are likely to be bigger than the possible original error.

Peer review helps, has collective strength, but the misinformation in more minds is also more, multiplying through interaction and the warm feeling of being on the right track. The status of those who agree serves as confirmation of convictions, while group think feeds on insecurity. Every zeitgeist forms and flows in the eddies of its cultural instabilities and solidifies in its societal conventions. Humanity learns and crafts continually, also fights and disagrees forever. It concurrently produces and warps knowledge and the understanding of the past. And living in hope of doing it all better tomorrow.

H. emelyae, whatever is to become of it in human knowledge systems, will grow unperturbed by the storms raging outside its cup. More likely to be harmed by humanitys impact on its environment. It is currently known as a single, stemless rosette partly buried in the ground. The variety name suggests many leaves, maybe more than found on the other varieties? The leaves may have small teeth and translucent window parts fringed by longitudinal, pale green lines aligned towards the apex.

The flowers are small, characteristically two-lipped and white, the segment keels green. This description holds for several haworthias. Their leaves usually receive more attention than their flowers. The plant is found in the Little Karoo, especially from Uniondale to Oudtshoorn (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; Wikipedia).