Aloe kraussii Baker, 1880

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 kraussii Baker

Common names.

Broad-leaved yellow grass aloe (English); isipukutwane, isiputumane (Zulu).

Description.

Grass aloe. Acaulescent plants or stem very short, dried leaves not persistent; rosettes solitary or suckering to form small groups. Leaves distichous or sub-distichous, becoming rosulate in old plants, deciduous, erectly spreading, dull green, usually without spots, lower surface sometimes with few white spots near base, broadly linear-acuminate, ± 30-40 cm long, 3.5-5.0 cm wide; margin extremely narrow, white, cartilaginous, with minute white teeth; exudate clear. Inflorescence 0.35-0.40 m high, erect, simple. Raceme capitate, somewhat corymbose, ± 3 cm long, ± 10 cm wide, dense. Floral bracts up to 15 mm long, 5 mm wide. Pedicels up to 35 mm long. Flowers: perianth lemon-yellow to yellow, green-tipped, 16-18 mm long, ± 6 mm across ovary, narrowing towards slightly upturned mouth, base tapering into pedicel, straight, cylindrical; outer segments free almost to base; stamens exserted to 3 mm; style exserted to 5 mm.

Flowering time.

November-February.

Habitat.

Damp places in sandy soil or on stony slopes of grassy hillsides in the mistbelt of the KwaZulu-Natal midlands.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe kraussii can be distinguished from other grass aloes in KwaZulu-Natal with unkeeled leaves that are wider than 3.5 cm ( Aloe boylei , Aloe ecklonis , Aloe hlangapies and Aloe neilcrouchii ), by the rosettes of erectly spreading, distichous or sub-distichous leaves ( ± 30-40 × 3.5-5.0 cm), that sometimes have a few white spots near the base on the lower surface. It is further characterised by the unbranched inflorescences (0.35-0.40 m high) that have dense, capitate and somewhat corymbose racemes ( ± 3 cm long) with small (16-18 mm long), yellow, rather straight flowers.

Conservation status.

Endangered. Threats include habitat loss and degradation owing to silviculture, agiculture (mainly sugarcane) and urban expansion, as well as alien invasives (L. von Staden pers. comm.). It is one of the rarer of the grass aloes owing to habitat loss ( Craib 2005).

Distribution.

Confined to the coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where it is still fairly common (Fig. 19 ).

Notes.

Aloe kraussii is considered by some to be a low-altitude form of Aloe ecklonis Salm-Dyck ( Carter et al. 2011).

Figures

Figure 19. Aloe kraussii. Photo: G. Nichols.