| Aloiampelos ciliaris | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Tribe: | Aloeae |
| Genus: | Aloiampelos |
| Species: | A. ciliaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Aloiampelos ciliaris (Haw.) Klopper & Gideon F.Sm. | |
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| Synonyms [1] | |
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Aloiampelos ciliaris, formerly Aloe ciliaris, the common climbing-aloe, is a thin, tough, rapidly growing succulent plant from South Africa.
They can be differentiated from other Aloiampelos species by the way that the soft, white, hair-like teeth (=ciliaris) that grow along the margins of the leaves, extend all the way around the stem, at the base of the leaf.
The fleshy leaves themselves are strongly recurved (helping to anchor the tall stems in dense thickets and assist the plant in climbing). The leaf sheaths are conspicuously striped green and white.
These plants grow very quickly, producing long, thin, untidy stems that shoot upwards, producing large bright orange-red flowers once they reach the sun. If there are no nearby trees to act as host and support, it just forms a straggly shrub.
The red flowers appear mostly from November to April.
Aloiampelos ciliaris is naturally widespread in the coastal and thicket vegetation of the Eastern Cape, flowing over the Western Cape border. Especially in dry river valleys where they grow in thorny forests, their long stems pushing rapidly upwards and out through the thicket canopy. Their recurved leaves act as hooks, allowing the plant to anchor itself in the thick vegetation.
This species seems to have developed from a smaller, rarer, more delicate plant now classified as a subspecies, Aloe ciliaris subsp. tidmarshi, and to have spread out across the region relatively recently. The ancestral subspecies remains restricted to the Albany thickets of the Eastern Cape, between Grahamstown and Uitenhage. While Aloiampelos ciliaris was originally indigenous to the dry thicket vegetation of the Eastern Cape, from the Baviaanskloof mountains to as far as the Ciskei, this adaptable species has been widely introduced and currently occurs across much of South Africa. [2]
They grow very easily from cuttings, and they have been planted in gardens all over South Africa. This is the fastest growing of all aloes and their relatives. [3]
An introduced population in Kenya was reported in 1950 by the botanist G. W. Reynolds (1950:353).
Aloiampelos ciliaris is one of the species in the genus that now grows throughout Southern Africa. Some other species are: Aloiampelos tenuior , Aloiampelos gracilis , Aloiampelos commixta , Aloiampelos juddii and Aloiampelos striatula . [4]
Aloe succotrina, the Fynbos aloe, is an aloe which is endemic to Cape Town and the south-western corner of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Aloe comosa is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is commonly called Clanwilliam aloe) and is endemic to South Africa.
Aloe excelsa is an arborescent aloe indigenous to southern Africa.
The Albany thickets is an ecoregion of dense woodland in southern South Africa, which is concentrated around the Albany region of the Eastern Cape.
Aloe africana is an arborescent species of aloe plant, indigenous to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Kumara plicatilis, formerly Aloe plicatilis, the fan-aloe, is a succulent plant endemic to a few mountains in the Fynbos ecoregion, of the Western Cape in South Africa. The plant has an unusual and striking fan-like arrangement of its leaves. It may grow as a large multistemmed shrub or as a small tree. It is one of the two species in the genus Kumara.
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.
Aloiampelos striatula, formerly Aloe striatula, the hardy aloe or striped-stemmed aloe, is a sturdy succulent plant that naturally occurs on the summits of mountains along the south of the Karoo region of South Africa. Tough and hardy, with bright yellow flowers, it is also cultivated as a garden ornamental.
Aloiampelos tenuior, formerly Aloe tenuior, the fence aloe, is a bushy, multi-branched succulent plant from the grasslands and thickets of the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal and Mpumalanga, South Africa. Its preferred habitat is sandy soils in open country, unlike many of its relatives that favour thicket vegetation. It is one of the most profusely flowering of all aloes and their relatives.
Aloiampelos gracilis, formerly Aloe gracilis, the rocket aloe, is a succulent plant, endemic to dry thicket vegetation around the city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Its natural range lies just to the west of the related Aloiampelos ciliaris, and it occurs in bushy fynbos and dry thickets, and clustered on rocky outcrops at all altitudes. Its range extends westwards into the Baviaanskloof mountains.
Aloe perfoliata, the rubble aloe or mitre aloe, is a hardy creeping aloe, found in rocky, mountainous areas throughout the Western Cape, South Africa.
Aloiampelos juddii, formerly Aloe juddii, the Koudeberg aloe, is a newly discovered species that is native to a few rocky outcrops and a farm, near to Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Aloiampelos decumbens, formerly Aloe decumbens, the Langeberg rambling-aloe, is a sprawling, succulent plant that is endemic to the fynbos vegetation of the Langeberg Mountains near Swellendam and Riversdale in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Aloiampelos, formerly Aloe ser. Macrifoliae is a genus of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae, comprising seven species found in Southern Africa. They are typically multi-branched climbing or sprawling shrubs, with long spindly stems and a large woody base on the ground. These characteristics, as well as their soft, narrow, triangular leaves whose lower part ensheathes the stem, make them easy to distinguish.
Aloe brevifolia, the short-leaved aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is a tiny, compact, blue-green evergreen succulent perennial, that is native to the Western Cape, South Africa. Listed as Vulnerable on IUCN's global Red List, it is threatened in its natural habitat, but is also widely popular as an ornamental plant in rockeries and desert gardens worldwide. As it requires winter heat, in temperate regions it is grown under glass or as a houseplant.
Ipomoea simplex is a central and eastern Southern African grassland species of Convolvulaceae or Sweet Potato family, notable for its large tuber or root, often eaten raw by Xhosa and Sotho herd boys. Carl Peter Thunberg first described this species in the Prodromus Plantarum Capensium of 1794. 'Ipomoea' = 'worm-like', in reference to the twining habit of the genus.
Aloe pluridens is an arborescent aloe indigenous to southern Africa.
Aloe speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is commonly called tilt-head aloe and is an arborescent aloe indigenous to the thicket vegetation of the southern Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Aloe rupestris is an arborescent aloe indigenous to summer-rainfall areas of southern Africa.
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.
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