| Aloe comosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Aloe |
| Species: | A. comosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Aloe comosa | |
Aloe comosa is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. [1] It is commonly called Clanwilliam aloe) and is endemic to South Africa.
Typically, Aloe comosa has thick, succulent leaf blades approximately 2 feet (0.6 metres) long. The leaves are lanceolate with a glabrous surface. The edges of the leaves are entire, curved upwards (involute) and lined with spiny, tooth-like, brown-red thorns. The fleshy blades have a whorled leaf insertion as they emerge from the rosette which is at the end of an erect stem.
Aloe comosa is considered a tree aloe, having a single, unbranched stem which may attain heights of approximately 3 m. As it matures and grows in height, it retains its dry, dead leaves which form a tangled mass resembling a skirt or a beard. Tree aloe bark differs from woody dicot bark in that it does not have a phellogen, which is the meristematic tissue that differentiates into bark. In essence, aloe bark is actually overlapping, irregular layers of incomplete bark tissues. [2] A study in 1983 considered the purpose of retaining dead leaves by several species of tree aloe. Previous ideas were that dead-leaf retention protected bare bark from the sun during the day and the cold at night or that the thorny mass of leaves could deter unwanted wild life in search for water, nectar, or seeds. It was proposed that dead-leaf retention was selected to provide thick, fire resistant bark in a fire-prone habitat. [2]
Naturally, Aloe comosa follows the typical angiosperm life cycle. Like most South African aloes, it blooms in the summer. Tall inflorescences (flower stems) that can reach 2 meters (6.7 feet) in height branch from the rosette. At the tips of the inflorescences are flower spikes which are composed of many small, tightly compacted flowers. In most cases the color of the flower spikes ranges from rosy-cream to ivory-pink and is pale at the bottom of the spike with a darker pink hue on the upper parts. Pollination is carried out primarily by bees, although it is plausible that some evening moths could be pollinating this species as well.[ citation needed ]
The seeds are produced in late February and early March of each year in time for the winter rains; the seasonal shift in the southern hemisphere is opposite that of the northern hemisphere. Once the seed capsules turn pale green, they will split and expose their flat, brown seeds. These seeds are enclosed by a thin, transparent membrane which aid in transporting the seeds. In the event of a sufficient breeze, the seeds are dispersed and blown some distance from the parent plant where they usually germinate under the protection of a nurse plant. [3]
Aloe comosa is the botanical name for what is commonly known as Clanwilliam aloe. The person who discovered the species has not been recorded but those that contributed its botanical name were two German botanists, Alwin Berger and Hermann Wilhelm Rudolf Marloth, whom specialized in South African botany and the nomenclature of succulent plants. [4]
Aloe comosa inhabits a very small region within the Western Cape province of South Africa. It was discovered in the Olifants River Valley in 1905, north of the town Clanwilliam (hence its common name). [3]
The genus Aloe currently consists of over 650 species. A few species of aloe are used to treat minor thermal burns, itching, and sunburn by applying the thick, mucilaginous gel to the skin, but Aloe comosa is not one of those species. Its only apparent uses are a decorative house plant and collector's item. [5] Even though Aloe comosa is indigenous to the Western Cape of South Africa, it is possible for experienced collectors and horticulturalists to maintain their plants outdoors, in Arizona and California for instance, or in a desert climate greenhouse.
Aloe arborescens, the krantz aloe or candelabra aloe, is a species of flowering succulent perennial plant that belongs to the genus Aloe, which it shares with the well known and studied Aloe vera. The specific epithet arborescens means "tree-like". Aloe arborescens is valued by gardeners for its succulent green leaves, large vibrantly-colored flowers, winter blooming, and attraction for birds, bees, and butterflies.
Cussonia is a genus of plants of the family Araliaceae, which is native to the Afrotropics. It originated in Africa and has its center of distribution in South Africa and the Mascarene Islands. Due to their striking habit, they are a conspicuous and easily recognizable group of plants. Their genus name commemorates the botanist Pierre Cusson. The Afro-Malagasy and Asian Schefflera, and Afrotropical Seemannaralia genera are related taxa that share several of its morphological characteristics, among which the leaves borne on the end of branches, inflorescences carried on terminal branches or stems, and reduced leaf complexity in developing inflorescences.
This page provides a glossary of plant morphology. Botanists and other biologists who study plant morphology use a number of different terms to classify and identify plant organs and parts that can be observed using no more than a handheld magnifying lens. This page provides help in understanding the numerous other pages describing plants by their various taxa. The accompanying page—Plant morphology—provides an overview of the science of the external form of plants. There is also an alphabetical list: Glossary of botanical terms. In contrast, this page deals with botanical terms in a systematic manner, with some illustrations, and organized by plant anatomy and function in plant physiology.
Aloe marlothii is a large, single-stemmed Southern African aloe of rocky places and open flat country, occasionally growing up to 6 m tall.
Aloe hereroensis is an African Aloe native to Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Like other Aloe species, it forms a rosette of succulent, lanceolate, greyish-green leaves with teeth along their edges. These leaves can grow up to 40 cm long. A. hereroensis forms large inflorescences, up to 1 meter high, with clusters of scarlet flowers.
Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes.
Aloe ferox, commonly known as bitter aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. This woody aloe is indigenous to southern Africa. It is one of several Aloe species used to make bitter aloes, a purgative medication, and also yields a non-bitter gel that can be used in cosmetics.
Astroloba rubriflora is a succulent plant found in the mountainous Karoo area around Robertson, South Africa. It is listed as a Vulnerable species on the IUCN global Red List.
Brabejum is a genus of a single species of large evergreen tree, Brabejum stellatifolium in the family Proteaceae, commonly called wild almond, bitter almond or ghoeboontjie. It is restricted in the wild to South Africa's Western Cape province, where it grows in thickets along the banks of streams. The plant is of botanical interest as being Africa's only member of the large grevilleoid subfamily. It is a bushy small tree with branches widely at ground level and numerous erect vigorous stems. Leaves grow up to 6 in (15 cm) long, narrow and bluntly toothed, appear at intervals along the branches, mostly in whorls of 6. In summer, the plant bears white flowers densely crowded on spikes arising from rusty buds at the leaf axils. The fruits to 2 in (5 cm) long, magenta to reddish brown, similar to an almond, appear in autumn. The nut is too bitter to eat; however, in earlier times it was boiled, roasted, and ground to make a "coffee" drink.
Aloiampelos commixta is a flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is commonly called Table Mountain aloe, and is a rare succulent plant that is endemic to the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. It naturally occurs only on the Table Mountain range, within the city of Cape Town.
Aloe broomii, known as the mountain aloe or snake aloe on account of its odd inflorescence, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aloe, found in southern Africa.
Aloe petricola belongs to the genus Aloe in the family Asphodelaceae, and is commonly known as a stone aloe. This particular aloe is a flowering species with unique and distinct inflorescences, which make the plant easy to identify and distinguish from other Aloe plants. Aloe petricola is very popular for gardening because of its beautiful and radiant colors. Like many Aloe species, Aloe petricola is used for medical purposes, as it aids in healing wounds and minor burns.
Agave virginica, synonym Manfreda virginica, commonly known as the false aloe, rattlesnake master, American aloe, Virginia agave, and eastern agave, is a species of agave. It is native to the central and southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico, where it is found in prairies, upland rocky glades, and sandy open woods.
Aloe reynoldsii is a species of plant in the Asphodelaceae family.
Aloe rupestris is an arborescent aloe indigenous to summer-rainfall areas of southern Africa.
The Asparagales are an order of plants, and on this page the structure of the order is used according to the APG III system. The order takes its name from the family Asparagaceae and is placed in the monocots. The order is clearly circumscribed on the basis of DNA sequence analysis, but is difficult to define morphologically, since its members are structurally diverse. The APG III system is used in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families from the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. With this circumscription, the order consists of 14 families with approximately 1120 genera and 26000 species.
Aloe tormentorii is a species of Aloe endemic to the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.
Aloe globuligemma, commonly known as the witchdoctor's aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is native to southern Africa where it occurs in semi-desert and dry bushland. It is an evergreen, succulent, perennial plant. The plant forms large, dense clumps. It is harvested from the wild for local medicinal use.
Aloeae is a tribe of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae of the family Asphodelaceae, consisting of the aloes and their close relatives. The taxon may also be treated as the subfamily Alooideae by those botanists who retain the narrower circumscription of Asphodelaceae adopted prior to the APG III system. Typically, plants have rosettes of more or less succulent leaves, with or without a distinct stem. Their flowers are arranged in racemes and tend to be either small and pale, pollinated by insects, or larger and more brightly coloured, pollinated by birds. As of 2017, 11 genera are recognized, most created since 2010 by splitting off another five genera from Aloe and another two from Haworthia. Only two genera, Aloe and Aloidendron, are native outside southern Africa, extending northwards to the Arabian Peninsula. Seven genera are restricted to South Africa, some with small ranges. Members of the Aloeae are cultivated by succulent plant enthusiasts; Aloe species especially are used in temperate climates as ornamental garden plants. Some species are used in traditional medicine. Aloe vera and Aloe ferox are cultivated for their extracts, whose uses include moisturizers and emollients in cosmetics.
Dudleya crassifolia is a species of drought deciduous, corm-forming succulent plant known by common name as the thick-leaf dudleya. It is an incredibly rare and cryptic plant native to one small locale less than a hectare in area on the Colonet peninsula in Baja California. It is threatened by urban development, including a proposed seaport. It is characterized by white, spreading flowers with leaf bases that are persistent on the stem. Although it did not receive as much media attention as the neighboring Dudleya hendrixii, it has been noted that the plant has several similarities to cryptic succulents like Anacampseros.
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