Aristaloe

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Aristaloe aristata
AloeAristata.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Tribe: Aloeae
Genus: Aristaloe
Boatwr. & J.C.Manning [1]
Species:
A. aristata
Binomial name
Aristaloe aristata
(Haw.) Boatwr. & J.C.Manning [2]
Synonyms [2]
  • Aloe aristataHaw.
  • Tulista aristata(Haw.) G.D.Rowley
  • Aloe longiaristataSchult. & Schult.f.
  • Aloe aristata var. leiophyllaBaker
  • Aloe aristata var. parvifoliaBaker
  • Aloe ellenbergeriGuillaumin

Aristaloe is a genus of evergreen flowering perennial plants in the family Asphodelaceae from Southern Africa. Its sole species is Aristaloe aristata, [3] known as guinea-fowl aloe or lace aloe.

Contents

Naming and taxonomy

Rosette Aloe aristata.jpg
Rosette

This species is known locally as "serelei" (Sesotho for "slippery one") or "langnaaldaalwyn" (Afrikaans for "lacey aloe"). In English it is usually known as the "lace aloe" or "guinea-fowl aloe".

The species was described by Adrian Hardy Haworth. Its species name "aristata" comes from the Latin for "bristly" or "awned", and refers to the lacy edges of the leaves. Its generic name has the same etymology. Recent phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that the genus Aloe is polyphyletic and that this unusual species is not in fact an aloe, but is more closely related to Astroloba and to the four "Robustipedunculares" species of Haworthia . It has therefore been moved to its own genus, Aristaloe, to account for its separate ancestry and genetic uniqueness. [4]

Description

It is stemless, sawtoothed and succulent. The soft succulent leaves grow in rosettes, in a dense and imbricate arrangement. [5] The leaves are lanceolate in shape, with bristly margins and a long thread-like tip (aristate).

Its nectar-rich, tubular orange flowers tend to attract birds, bees, and wasps easily. When not in bloom, it is similar to and often confused with some other species, such as Haworthiopsis fasciata . [6]

Distribution

It is indigenous to South Africa and Lesotho. Its natural range extends from the Karoo region of the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa, eastwards through the Free State and Lesotho, as far as the borders of Kwazulu-Natal Province.

Within such a wide range, this adaptable little species inhabits a range of environments, from the dry, sandy Nama Karoo, to the high grasslands and cold mountain slopes of Lesotho, and the shady forested valleys of KwaZulu-Natal. [7]

Cultivation

It is commonly cultivated as a garden plant around the world. It prefers well-drained soils, but can tolerate a range of rainfall systems. It can also tolerate temperatures down to -7 °C, due to its adaptation to cold mountain tops. However it may need to be grown indoors or under glass in extremely cold temperate regions, to give it some winter heat. This clumping species readily produces large numbers of offsets, which can be separated and planted as a means of propagation.

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [8]

Related Research Articles

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

Aloe is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants. The most widely known species is Aloe vera, or "true aloe". It is called this because it is cultivated as the standard source for assorted pharmaceutical purposes. Other species, such as Aloe ferox, are also cultivated or harvested from the wild for similar applications.

<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>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>Gonialoe dinteri</i> Species of plant in the family Asphodelaceae

Gonialoe dinteri, the Namibian partridge aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is native to arid areas of Angola and Namibia.

<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 striatula</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Kumara haemanthifolia</i> Species of plant in the family Asphodelaceae

Kumara haemanthifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is a rare species of succulent plant, native to a few high, inaccessible mountain peaks in the Fynbos habitat of 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>Astroloba</i> Genus of flowering plants native to South Africa

Astroloba is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae, native to the Cape Province of South Africa.

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

Tulista is a small genus of succulent plants endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. They were formerly included within the genus Haworthia.

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

Astroloba herrei is a small succulent plant of the genus Astroloba, restricted to the area around the Swartberg mountains, South Africa.

<i>Kumara</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Kumara is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae, native to the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

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

Aloe melanacantha is a rare species of succulent plant in the family Asphodelaceae, from the arid Namaqualand areas of the western part of South Africa.

<i>Haworthiopsis pungens</i> Species of succulent

Haworthiopsis pungens, formerly Haworthia pungens, is a species of flowering succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

<i>Tulista kingiana</i> Species of succulent plant from the Western Cape, South Africa

Tulista kingiana is a species of succulent plant, from the Western Cape, South Africa. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN global Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloeae</span> Tribe of succulent plants

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.

<i>Aloidendron</i> Species of plant in the family Asphodelaceae

Aloidendron is a genus of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae. It was split off from the much larger genus Aloe in 2013.

<i>Haworthiopsis</i> Genus of succulent plants

Haworthiopsis is a genus of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae. The genus was previously included in Haworthia. Species in the genus are typically short perennial plants, with leaves often arranged in a rosette and frequently having raised white markings. The two-lipped flowers are borne on a tall stalk and are small – less than 17 mm (0.7 in) long – and pale in colour. Many species are cultivated as house plants or by succulent enthusiasts.

References

  1. "Aristaloe". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  2. 1 2 "Aristaloe aristata". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  3. "Search for Aristaloe". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  4. Manning, J.C., Boatwright, J.S., Daru, B.H., Maurin, O. and Van der Bank, M. 2014. "A molecular phylogeny and generic classification of Asphodelaceae subfamily Alooideae: A final resolution of the prickly issue of polyphyly in the Alooids?" Systematic Botany39(1):55-74.
  5. Molteno S. 2022. "Phyllotaxis in Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae: a tool in taxon delimitation." Haseltonia28(1), https://doi.org/10.2985/026.028.0107
  6. "Aloe aristata, Serelei (Slippery One Aloe), Torch Plant, Lace Aloe, Information and Cultivation Tips". succulents.co.za. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  7. "Threatened Species Programme | SANBI Red List of South African Plants". redlist.sanbi.org. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  8. "RHS Plant Selector - Aloe aristata". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 14 March 2020.