Aloe candelabrum A.Berger, 1906

Klopper, Ronell R., Crouch, Neil R., Smith, Gideon F. & van Wyk, Abraham E., 2020, A synoptic review of the aloes (Asphodelaceae, Alooideae) of KwaZulu-Natal, an ecologically diverse province in eastern South Africa, PhytoKeys 142, pp. 1-88 : 1

E Aloe candelabrum A.Berger

Common names.

Candelabrum aloe (English); doringaalwyn, kandelaaraalwyn (Afrikaans); umhlaba (Zulu).

Description.

Solitary, arborescent plant up to 2-4 m high. Stem simple, erect, 2-4 m high, densely covered with persistent dried leaves. Leaves densely rosulate, spreading to recurved, dull green to glaucous, without spots, surfaces smooth, lanceolate-ensiform, ± 100 cm long, 15 cm wide at base, under surface with few spines in median line near apex, occasionally with few scattered spines; margin reddish, cartilaginous, with pungent, reddish to reddish-brown, deltoid teeth, ± 3 mm long, 15-20 mm apart; exudate honey-coloured. Inflorescence usually single, ± 1 m high, erect, 6- to 12-branched. Racemes cylindrical, slightly acuminate, 50-80 cm long, terminal raceme, the longest and standing out higher than lateral racemes, very dense. Floral bracts ± 10 mm long, ± 5 mm wide. Pedicels 6 mm long. Flowers: perianth scarlet, sometimes rose-pink or orange, rarely white, ± 32 mm long, ± 5 mm across ovary, widening above ovary towards slightly upturned mouth, clavate-cylindrical, slightly ventricose; outer segments free for 16-22 mm; stamens and style exserted 20 mm.

Flowering time.

June-July.

Habitat.

Thornveld and bushy places on rocky slopes and hills and undulating country.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe candelabrum differs from the other tall often single-stemmed aloes in KwaZulu-Natal ( Aloe marlothii , Aloe pluridens , Aloe rupestris , Aloe spectabilis and Aloe thraskii ) with branched inflorescences, by having long ( ± 100 × 15 cm), spreading to recurved, deeply channelled leaves that sometimes have a few scattered spines on the lower surface and pungent, reddish to reddish-brown marginal teeth. The candelabra-like inflorescence is 6- to 12-branched with erect, very dense, cylindrical, slightly acuminate racemes of 50-80 cm long (the terminal raceme being longer than the lateral ones). Flowers are scarlet, sometimes rose-pink to orange, rarely white and ± 32 mm long with white inner segment tips.

Conservation status.

Near-threatened. Threats include habitat loss and degradation owing to silviculture, agriculture (mainly sugarcane) and urban expansion, as well as encroachment by alien invasives and illegal harvesting (L. von Staden pers. comm.).

Distribution.

More or less restricted to the valleys between the Umkhomazi and Umgeni Rivers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Fig. 9 ).

Notes.

The Index kewensis entry (now included in International Plant Names Index, www.ipni.org) for Aloe candelabrum Tod. in Hortus Botanicus Panormitanus: 46 (1876) is wrong as no such name exists. That reference is to Agave candelabrum Tod. in Hortus Botanicus Panormitanus: 66 (1876). This agave species is probably a synonym of Agave cantala (Haw.) Roxb. ex Salm-Dyck ( Figueiredo and Smith 2012). The name Aloe candelabrum A.Berger is thus legitimate and not a later homonym ( Reynolds 1950) as is often reported (e.g. Govaerts 2014).

Recognition of Aloe candelabrum as distinct from Aloe ferox Mill. ( Smith et al. 2016), in the synonymy of which it is sometimes included, implies that Aloe ferox , a predominantly Western and Eastern Cape species that just enters the south-western Free State and southern Lesotho, does not occur in KwaZulu-Natal.

Figures

Figure 9. Aloe candelabrum. Photo: G. F. Smith.