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 pillansii, synonymously known as Gasteria neliana and commonly known as Namaqua Gasteria in English or Namakwa-beestong in Afrikaans, is a South African endemic stemless succulent with strap-shaped leaves arranged alternately in two opposite vertical rows. It is a very variable species, especially in leaf and flower size. It grows up to 20 cm tall and 40 cm wide, proliferating from the base, and can form a dense clump up to 1 meter in diameter with age. The leaves are erectly spreading, oblong with rough to tuberculate surfaces and toothed margins, and can reach up to 20 cm in length and 5 cm in width. From spring to autumn, the flowers appear.