Aloiampelos striatula

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Aloiampelos striatula
Aloe striatula 1.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Tribe: Aloeae
Genus: Aloiampelos
Species:
A. striatula
Binomial name
Aloiampelos striatula
(Haw.) Klopper & Gideon F.Sm. [1]
Map of Macrifoliae Aloes.png
Synonyms [1]
  • Aloe striatulaHaw.

Aloiampelos striatula, formerly Aloe striatula, the hardy aloe or striped-stemmed aloe, [2] 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.

Contents

Description

Aloiampelos striatula is a robust rambling plant that can form a large shrub up to 2 m in height. It is closely related to Cape Town's Aloiampelos commixta , but it is easily distinguished from it by the distinctive dark green stripes on the stems and leaf sheaths (its species name, striatula, means "little stripes"), and by its thin, recurved leaves (which, like its flowers, are more densely packed). The leaves of Aloiampelos striatula are dark green and strongly recurved, with numerous small white teeth along their margins.

The flowers are reddish-orange and appear densely on tall (40cm), un-branched, cone-shaped racemes throughout the summer.

The unique variety caesia of this species - found only around Molteno in the Eastern Cape - has lighter grey-green leaves and bright yellow flowers. [3]

Distribution

Aloiampelos striatula naturally occurs in the mountains of the Karoo region of South Africa, between the towns of Graaf-reinet and Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, extending into the Free State and Lesotho. [1] It is very tough and hardy however and has been planted widely in gardens - in South Africa and around the world.

Although closest to the rare and unique Aloiampelos commixta of Table Mountain, Aloiampelos striatula is part of a genus, Aloiampelos , that grows throughout Southern Africa. Other species in this group are: Aloiampelos ciliaris , Aloiampelos tenuior , Aloiampelos gracilis , Aloiampelos juddii , Aloiampelos decumbens , and of course A. commixta and A. striatula itself. [4]

Cultivation

One of the hardiest of aloes and relatives, it will tolerate a wide range of conditions, and is even known commonly as the "hardy aloe". It will tolerate much colder temperatures than most aloes and relatives, including frost and even some light snow, but it prefers full sun and well-drained soil. In the Eastern Cape it is often planted along the boundaries of kraals, as it naturally forms a well-shaped and hardy hedge. Like other climbing aloes, it can easily be propagated by cuttings(truncheons) as well as by seed.

The plant's Latin species epithet "striatula" means "little stripes", and refers to the thin dark-green stripes that can be seen on the plant's leaf sheaths. Due to their similar species names, striatula is often confused in literature with the similarly named Aloe striata ("coral aloe"). [5]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Aristaloe</i> Monotypic genus of flowering perennial plant from southern Africa

Aristaloe is a genus of evergreen flowering perennial plants in the family Asphodelaceae from Southern Africa. Its sole species is Aristaloe aristata, known as guinea-fowl aloe or lace aloe.

<i>Haworthia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Haworthia is a large genus of small succulent plants endemic to Southern Africa (Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa).

<i>Gonialoe variegata</i> Species of flowering plant

Gonialoe variegata, also known as tiger aloe and partridge-breasted aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is an evergreen succulent perennial indigenous to South Africa and Namibia. It is common in cultivation.

<i>Gasteria</i> Genus of succulent flowering plants from South Africa

Gasteria is a genus of succulent plants, native to South Africa.

<i>Aloidendron barberae</i> Species of tree

Aloidendron barberae, formerly Aloe bainesii and Aloe barberae, also known as the tree aloe, is a species of succulent plant in the genus Aloidendron. It is native to South Africa northwards to Mozambique. In its native climes this slow-growing tree can reach up to 60 feet (18 m) high and 36 inches (0.91 m) in stem diameter. Aloidendron barberae is Africa's largest aloe-like plant. The tree aloe is often used as an ornamental plant. Its tubular flowers are rose pink (green-tipped); it flowers in winter and in its natural environment is pollinated by sunbirds.

<i>Aloe succotrina</i> Species of succulent

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.

<i>Aloe comosa</i> Species of plant in the family Asphodelaceae

Aloe comosa is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is commonly called Clanwilliam aloe) and is endemic to South Africa.

<i>Aloe striata</i> Species of succulent

Aloe striata, with the common name coral aloe, is a small, stemless South African Aloe species.

<i>Astroloba rubriflora</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Kumara plicatilis</i> Species of tree

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.

<i>Aloiampelos commixta</i> Species of plant in the family Asphodelaceae

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.

<i>Aloiampelos ciliaris</i> Species of vine

Aloiampelos ciliaris, formerly Aloe ciliaris, the common climbing-aloe, is a thin, tough, rapidly growing succulent plant from South Africa.

<i>Aloiampelos tenuior</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Aloiampelos gracilis</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Aloe perfoliata</i> Species of succulent

Aloe perfoliata, the rubble aloe or mitre aloe, is a hardy creeping aloe, found in rocky, mountainous areas throughout the Western Cape, South Africa.

<i>Aloiampelos juddii</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Aloiampelos decumbens</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Aloiampelos</i> Genus of succulent flowering plants

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.

<i>Aloe speciosa</i> Species of plant

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.

<i>Crassula subaphylla</i> Species of plant

Crassula subaphylla is a succulent plant belonging to the family Crassulaceae. It is widespread in the Karoo regions of South Africa and Namibia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Aloiampelos striatula". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2017-10-15.
  2. 1 2 "RHS Plantfinder - Aloe striatula". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  3. Smith, G.F. & Van Wyk, B.-E. 2008. Aloes in Southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town. ISBN   978-1-875093-04-5.
  4. Reynolds, G.W. 1950. The aloes of Southern Africa. Balkema, Cape Town.
  5. "Description and Cultivation of Rambling Aloes".

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