Gasteria visserii was recently named in Bradleya (Van Jaarsveld 2020) the magazine of the British Cactus and Succulent Society. It was first collected by Dr Peter Berend, radiologist from Stellenbosch and keen plantsman, who collected this species as a young boy, whilst on a cycad exploring expedition accompanying his father, a cycad enthusiast. Peter kept the plants through the years growing them in his greenhouse near Stellenbosch, where the plants was spotted by the author. This collection was also grown in the succulent house of the Babylonstoren Farm, between Simondium and Klapmuts, and plants grown on and the species later named when they came into flower.  

Gasteria visserii honours Dr Gerrit Visser, a medical practitioner who made a large contribution to our knowledge of Gasteria. Gerrit, throughout the past 25 years, not only collecting almost all the species, but also investigating and making several collections of each species within their distribution range. For some of them, he extended our knowledge of their distribution range. He also saved some variants whose habitat was destroyed by urban expansion. Gerrit carefully documented all the collections, of which he donated a duplicate set to Babylonstoren Farm. He grows the live plants in containers at his home in Bellville, on a well-drained slope. Gerrit is also a trophy hunter and travelled Africa and the world hunting trophies. It was also Gerrit’s interest in Gasteria which led to a near-tragic event in 2008, when Gerrit got shot by 2 youngster thugs below the Jozini Dam, in northern KwaZulu-Natal whilst he was looking through his binoculars to see if he could see Gasteria batesiana ‘Jozini’ plants on the cliff below the dam wall. The resilient Gerrit survived the attack thanks to the rapid response of his wife, Dr Elmien Steyn, who ensured his rapid transport by helicopter to Stanger Hospital. 

The meaning of Keiskamma River according to Nienaber & Raper (1983) is translated as ‘puff adder river’.

Gasteria visseri is one of about 30 species of Gasteria endemic to southern Africa. They are aloe-like, with succulent leaves in a tight rosette, often proliferating from the base and cluster-forming. They are closely related to aloes, and range in size from the smallest, the Liliput Ox-tongue (Gasteria bicolor var. liliputana) a few cm in diameter, to the large Regal Ox-tongue (Gasteria excelsa) and the Coast Ox-tongue (Gasteria acinacifolia) bearing rosettes of up to 60 cm in diameter. They differ from aloes by their brittle, usually mottled leaves and pendent pedicles and tubular flowers, swollen at the base almost like a belly (gaster is Greek for belly) (Clark & Charters 2016). The leaves will root when becoming detached and lying on the ground forming new plantlets. Unlike aloes, most gasterias grows in dappled shade and the greatest diversity can be found in the southern part of the Eastern Cape. Most gasterias are ornamental, and often grown by succulent enthusiasts.