Haworthia maughanii is native only to a small area in the Western Cape of South Africa where their spiral rosette of thick leaves grow buried underground with only the flatted tops poking through the sand, level to the ground and usually buried. These survival experts are almost undetectable from most angles, until an aerial perspective of the plant reveals the blue-tinted, often completely transparent foliage which, like other Haworthia and local endemics, have evolved to transmit the sun’s energy to deeply buried, well protected parts of the plant so that it can still photosynthesize without announcing its present to nearby grazers. These transparent leaves are often capped with opaque or intricate “veins” of white pigmentation, the evolutionary purpose of which is unknown but has provided the basis for decades of Haworthia maughanii is native to a small area in the Western Cape of South Africa, where its spiral rosette of thick leaves grows almost entirely underground, with only the flattened tips visible at the surface and often buried altogether. These plants are difficult to spot from most angles and only an overhead view reveals the blue-tinted, often completely transparent leaf windows. Like other Haworthia and local endemics, they evolved to channel sunlight down into the protected parts of the plant, allowing photosynthesis to continue without advertising their presence to grazers. These transparent leaf tops are frequently overlaid with opaque or intricately veined white patterns. Their evolutionary role remains uncertain, but they have become the foundation for decades of selective breeding, producing designs never seen in the wild and often reflecting the sensibilities of the breeder as much as the plant itself. There was a time when certain H. maughanii hybrids from Japan or produced by figures like Steven Hammer or Gerhard Marx commanded astonishing sums, but the market has stabilized thanks to tissue culture, and many once-exclusive forms are now within reach for ordinary collectors. This hybrid is one of the better-known examples, yet it still stands out as one of the most impressive. Named “Shirotae,” or “white cloth,” it develops increasingly complex white striations with age and remains distinctive enough that established breeders continue to keep it in their parent stock alongside far rarer, one-off plants.