Aloe kedongensis | |
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Aloe Kedongensis habit, "Castell de la Santa Bàrbara", Alicante, Spain | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Asparagales |
Family: | Asphodelaceae |
Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
Genus: | Aloe |
Species: | A. kedongensis |
Binomial name | |
Aloe kedongensis Christian & I.Verd. | |
Aloe kedongensis (the "Kenyan Aloe") is a species of aloe which occurs in Kenya and northern Tanzania.
Along with Aloe dawei and Aloe rivae , it is very commonly used for hedges in East Africa.
Aloe kedongensis branches from the base to form thick clumps of stems, each up to 4 meters long, and either erect or sprawling on the ground. The slender leaves (60 cm long, 3.5 cm wide) are recurved and without any markings (though the leaves of very young plants often have occasional white blotches on them).
The 50 cm tall inflorescence sometimes has a branch or two, with cylindrical racemes. The tubular flowers are red, 3–4 cm long, and born on 2–3 cm pedicels. The tips of the flower lobes curve outwards.
Aloe kedongensis is a tetraploid, with four sets of chromosomes. It is part of a unique group of closely related tetraploid aloes in East Africa, which all share a recent common ancestor, and occur near to each other in a variety of habitats within the region. The other five species of this group are: [1]
Pachypodium brevicaule is a species of plant that belongs to the family Apocynaceae.
Mimetes chrysanthus is an evergreen, upright shrub of 1½–2 m high that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has green, slightly stalked oval leaves of 3–4½ cm (1.2–1.8 in) long and 1–1¾ cm (0.4–0.7 in) wide. The inflorescences are near the tip of the branches, cylinder-shaped and consist of 50–70 densely cropped flower heads, each in the axil of a green leaf, consisting of 25–35 golden yellow, faintly sweet scented flowers. It is endemic to the Fynbos ecoregion of South Africa and is found in two locations, in the Western Cape province. The flowering season is from March to May or June, but flower heads sometimes occur in any other part of the year.
Mimetes cucullatus is an evergreen shrub with several, mostly not branching, upright stems of 1–2 m (3–7 ft) high, that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It is the most wide-spread and most common pagoda species that can cope with a relatively large range of environmental circumstances. It is known under several names including common pagoda in English and rooistompie in Afrikaans.
Mimetes hirtus is an upright, evergreen shrub of 1½–2 m high from the family Proteaceae. It has upright, overlapping, (broadly) lance-shaped leaves, without teeth, but with one thickened pointy tip. It has cylindric inflorescences topped by a pine apple-like tuft of pinkish-brownish, smaller and more or less horizontal leaves. The flowerheads are tightly enclosed by yellow, red-tipped bracts, only the 9–14 long red styles and the whitish silky tips of the perianth sticking out. It is primarily pollinated by the Cape sugarbird. It is an endemic species of the southwest of the Western Cape province of South Africa, and grows in wet zones at the base of south facing mountain slopes. Flower heads may be found from May to November, but peaks in July and August. The species has several vernacular names of which marsh pagoda seems to be used most.
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.
Aloe kilifiensis is a species of plant found on the shores around the Kenya–Tanzania border. It is threatened by the destruction of its habitat for agricultural purposes, and collected because of its flower's distinct coloring.
Mimetes fimbriifolius, also called cowl pagoda or the fringed pagoda, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae. It is a dense, rounded, multi-branched tree that grows up to 4 metres in height. This attractive and striking plant flowers all year round, and produces red and yellow branch-heads and inflorescences. The nectar-rich flowers are pollinated by sunbirds and the seeds are distributed and taken underground by ants before germinating. It is endemic to the Table Mountain range in the city of Cape Town, South Africa.
Aloe tormentorii is a species of Aloe endemic to the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.
Aloe purpurea is a species of Aloe endemic to the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, where it formerly occurred on dry rocky slopes and outcrops, the highland plateaus, and the forests of the west. It is part of a group of aloes which bear fleshy berries, and were therefore classed as a separate group, "Lomatophyllum". It is also one of only two Aloe species which naturally occur on Mauritius - both endemic and occurring nowhere else.
Leucospermum muirii is a rounded, upright, evergreen shrub of about 1½ m (5 ft) high, with a single trunk at its base, that is assigned to the Proteaceae. The flowering branches are 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) thick and are initially grey due to a covering of fine crinkly hairs, which are soon lost. The very narrow spade-shaped leaves of about 5 cm (2 in) long and ¾ cm (0.3 in) wide carry three to seven teeth, and also quickly lose their soft layer of hairs. Its smallish globe-shaped flower heads of 2–3 cm (0.8–1.2 in) in diameter occur with one to four together, each on a stalk of 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) long. It has pale to greenish yellow flowers, becoming orange with age, with some long hairs near their tips, from which straight styles stick out. This gives the flower head the likeness of a pincushion. It flowers from July till October and is pollinated by birds. It is called Albertinia pincushion in English and bloukoolhout in Afrikaans. It is an endemic species that can only be found near Albertinia in the very south of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Leucospermum pluridens is a large upright evergreen shrub of up to 3 m (10 ft) high assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has leathery, oblong to wedge-shaped leaves of about 7½ cm long and 2½ cm wide, deeply incised near the tip with seven to ten teeth. It has initially yellow, later carmine coloured flower heads. The 2 cm long bracts have slender, recurved tips. From the center of the perianth emerge long styles that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. It is called Robinson pincushion in English and Robinson-kreupelhout in Afrikaans. Flowers can be found between September and December. It naturally occurs in the south of South Africa.
Leucospermum arenarium is a lax, evergreen shrub, with arching and drooping branches, that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has loosely spaced, upright, greyish, narrowly egg-shaped to line-shaped leaves, mostly without teeth and flattened globe-shaped flower heads of 5–7 cm across, consisting of mostly creamy, seldom yellow flowers, that curve in the bud to the center of the head. From the center of the flowers emerge curved styles that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. The common name in English is Redelinghuys pincushion. It only occurs in a very small area in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It flowers between July and October. Unlike in related species the flowers are pollinated by hairy-footed gerbils and striped field mice.
Leucospermum secundifolium is a low, evergreen shrub that grows along the ground, the tip of the branches slightly rising, which has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has narrowly elliptic leaves with a distinct leafstalk, and few-flowered and very small heads of 1–1½ cm (0.4–0.6 in) across. It is called stalked pincushion in English. The sweetly scented flower heads may be found around early December. It is an endemic species that only grows in a small area of the Western Cape province of South-Africa.
Vexatorella amoena, also known as the Swartruggens vexator is an evergreen shrub of up to about 1 m (3 ft) high, that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has entire, inverted egg-shaped, bluish grey, leathery leaves of 1½–3 cm (0.6–1.2 in) long and 5–11 mm (0.20–0.45 in) wide on a distinct stalk, and globular flower heads of about 2 cm (0.8 in) across with pale pink flowers with extended, thick-tipped styles at the tip of the branches. The plants are flowering from September to November. It is an endemic species that is restricted to the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Mimetes splendidus or splendid pagoda is an evergreen, rather sparsely branching, upright shrub of up to 2½ m (8 ft) high from the family Proteaceae. It has broadly lance-shaped to oval, silvery-hairy leaves with three or four teeth crowded at the tip. It has cylinder-shaped inflorescences that consists of many heads, each containing eleven to thirteen flowers, in the axils of the highest leaves. These leaves form a hood over a lower flowerhead and are flushed orangy pink. It flowers during winter, from early May to September. It is an endemic species that is restricted to the south face of the coastal mountains of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Mimetes stokoei, the mace pagoda, is an evergreen, upright, hardly branching, large shrub of 1–2 m high in the family Proteaceae. It has silvery, oval leaves of 5–8 cm (2.0–3.2 in) long and 2+1⁄2–4 cm (1.0–1.6 in) wide, with one large tooth supported by two smaller teeth near the tip, at an upward angle and somewhat overlapping each other. The inflorescences are set just below the growing tip, are cylinder-shaped, 10–12 cm (4–5 in) high, topped by a crest of small, more or less horizontal, pinkish-purple tinged leaves. It consists of several flower heads in the axils of golden leaves with a pinkish wash that form a hood shielding the underlying flower head. Each flower head contains eight to twelve individual flowers, with amber-colored styles topped by blackish purple pollen presenters and grey silky perianth lobes. It is endemic to the Fynbos ecoregion of South Africa, being confined to the Kogelberg mountain range. The mace pagoda was twice presumed extinct, but reappeared in its natural habitat from seed, after a wildfire several decades later.
Mimetes palustris or cryptic pagoda is an evergreen shrub, assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has horizontal sprawling shoots as well as upright, unbranched shoots usually about ½ m high. The leaves are entire and stand out on the lower parts of the shoots, but are overlapping and pressed tightly against each other near the inflorescence, almost like a snakeskin. The inflorescence consists of several flowerheads, each containing three clear yellow flowers that are longer than the subtending leaves. It is the smallest species of Mimetes and is an endemic species that grows on well-drained, but permanently moist sandy and peaty slopes in the mountains near Hermanus, Western Cape province of South Africa. It is considered critically endangered. Flowering occurs all year round, but peaks in August and September.
Mimetes pauciflorus, the three-flowered pagoda, is an evergreen, shyly branching, upright shrub of 2–4 (6½–13 ft) high, from the family Proteaceae. It has narrowly to broadly oval leaves of 2½–4 cm (1.0–1.6 in) long and ¾–2 cm (0.3–0.8 in) wide, on the upper parts of the branches, the lower parts leafless with a reddish brown bark. The inflorescences at the top of the shoots are cylinder-shaped, 10–40 cm (4–16 in) long and contain forty to one hundred twenty densely crowded flower heads, at a steep upward angle, hiding a crest of very small, almost vertical leaves. The flower heads each consist of three, rarely four individual flowers. The flowers are tightly enclosed by four or five orange-yellow, fleshy, pointy, lance-shaped involucral bracts, and three orange-yellow, 4–5½ cm (1.6–2.4 in) long bracteoles. It grows on always moist, south-facing slopes in the southern coastal mountains of South Africa. Flowers can be found from August to November, with a peak in September.
Mimetes saxatilis or limestone pagoda is an evergreen, upright, rarely branching shrub of 1–2¼ m high, assigned to the family Proteaceae. The approximately oval leaves are 3½–5 cm (1.4–2.0 in) long and 1½–3 cm (0.6–1.2 in) wide with a blunt, thickened, reddish tip or with three crowded teeth. It has cylinder-shaped inflorescences topped by a crest of green leaves, further consisting of heads with 12-22 individual bright yellow flowers, each in the axil of a flat, green leaf. It is an endemic species that is restricted to limestone outcrops in the Agulhas plains in the very south of the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is considered an endangered species. Flowering may occur between July and December, but is unreliable in its timing, dependent on sufficient moisture availability.
Hakea grammatophylla is a shrub of the family Proteacea that is endemic to the Northern Territory, Australia. It is a variable, sparsely branched shrub with pink to reddish flowers from March to late winter.
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