Gasteria is a genus of 23 species of succulent plants indigenous to South Africa with all except one being endemic to South Africa. Closely related genera include Aloe, Astroloba and Haworthia. The genus name Gasteria is named for its stomach-shaped flowers. In Greek, gaster, means belly, and alludes to the swollen base of the perianth tube. The genus is part of the family Asphodeloideae. Common names include cow-tongue cactus, lawyer’s tongue, mother-in-law’s tongue and ox-tongue. Gasteria species are grown in well-drained, sandy soils in light shade. Gasterias thrive in cultivation both indoors and outdoors, used as potted plants or in outdoor rockeries and are tolerant of a wide range of soils and habitats. The flowers attract birds to the garden during spring. With their ability to grow under lower light conditions they are easily grown and maintained in cultivation. Gasterias are used in various traditional medicines. In the Eastern Cape Gasteria excelsa and Gasteria croucheri are said to have magical properties and are occasionally put on the roofs of homes to stop lightning from striking the house. There are also reports that the plants are used during faction fighting in a belief that it will make them invisible to their enemies.

Gasteria excelsa is found over a wide area in the Eastern Cape Province, from near Port Alfred in the southwest, to Queenstown in the north and thence eastwards almost to the coast. Gasteria acinacifolia has longer leaves but excelsa exceeds it and all other Gasterias in sheer bulk! Fully grown plants can be 60 cm in diameter, a bit smaller than acinacifolia, but the leaves and plant body are very thick, heavy and robust, giving the plant an overall appearance suggesting massiveness. Gasteria excelsa is a very attractive plant with leaves that often have quite interesting patterns. When Gasteria excelsa blooms the owner is in for a real show. The plants often send up more than one inflorescence and each inflorescence is usually branched as well. The resulting flower stalk is, as you would expect, very impressive. The stalk may ascend 60 cm in height and all told, the number of individual flowers reaches into the hundreds.