Aloe longibracteata Pole Evans (1915: 25)

Smith, Gideon F. & Klopper, Ronell R., 2022, Reinstatement of Aloe longibracteata (Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae), a maculate aloe from northeastern South Africa, Phytotaxa 568 (2), pp. 191-203 : 198-201

Aloe longibracteata Pole Evans (1915: 25)

Also treated in: Pole Evans (1928: t. 299), Groenewald (1941: 71, 104, 167), Reynolds (1950: 262), Judd (1967: 27, plate 7), Jeppe (1969: 92), Bornman & Hardy (1971: 125), Jacobsen (1977: 86), Jacobsen (1986: 174), Van Wyk & Smith (1996: 204), Smith (2003: 33), Van Wyk & Smith (2003: 208), Grace (2009: 119), Carter et al. (2011: 165), Grace et al. (2011: 90–91), Van Wyk & Smith (2014: 248–249), Klopper (2015: 345, 597), Newton (2020: 598).

Type: — SOUTH AFRICA, Mpumalanga, Lydenburg, May 1914, I. B. Pole Evans 56 (holotype PRE PRE0086205 -0 [Image available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.pre0086205-0]) .

Epitype (here designated):— SOUTH AFRICA, Mpumalanga province, Lydenburg, collected May 1914, flowered at Laboratory, Pretoria , 8 June 1916, Pole Evans 56 (epitype PRE PRE0086134 -0 [Image available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen. pre0086134-0]; isoepitype K K000256636 [Image available at https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.specimen.k000256636]) .

Notes on the holo- and epitype of the name Aloe longibracteata :—In the protologue of the name A. longibracteata, Pole Evans (1915: 25) states that: “This plant was collected by myself near Lydenburg in the Transvaal in May, 1914. It grows in open grass country at an altitude of 5,000 –6,000 ft., and flowers from June to July.” Herb. PRE holds a specimen of A. longibracteata, Pole Evans 56, that has information associated with it that corresponds to the collecting date and place stated in the protologue ( Pole Evans 1915: 25). This information satisfies Turland et al. (2018: Art. 40.3 Note 2) because concrete reference to some detail relating to the actual type, such as collector’s name [ I. B. Pole Evans] or date [May 1914], was provided—it was not mere citation of a locality.

However, there are two sheets of Pole Evans 56 at Herb. PRE: one ( PRE0086205 -0), the holotype , is dated May 1914, while the other one ( PRE0086134 -0) indicates that the plant was collected in May 1914, but that it flowered two years later at the [Botany] Laboratory in Pretoria (see Smith et al. 2021b for a discussion on aloe research and cultivation there), on 8 June 1916, when that specimen was made. This second specimen is therefore not an isotype (duplicate of the holotype).

On a determination slip by Hugh Glen and Dave Hardy, dated 1991-04-04 where they identified the material as “ Aloe greatheadii var. davyana ”, these two specimens are indicated as “ Holotype of synonym, Sheet 1 of 2” ( PRE 0086134-0, 8 June 1916) and “ Holotype of synonym, Sheet 2 of 2” ( PRE 0086205-0, May 1914). However, the sheet numbers were not indicated as such when the specimens were originally prepared and accessioned in Herb. PRE, and these two specimens therefore cannot be regarded as sheets of the same collection, especially also since it does not constitute a single collecting event ( Turland et al. 2018; Articles 8.2 and 8.3) because of the different dates on the sheets. Furthermore, labeling a specimen does not constitute effective publication and designation of a type cannot be achieved in this way ( Turland et al. 2018: Art. 7.10).

Note that Reynolds (1950: 263), without citing a collecting number for the “ I. B. Pole Evans” gathering, referred to a specimen collected by Pole Evans that “Fl. May 1914 at Union Buildings” and doubtfully regarded it as the type—he stated “(?Type)”. As we show above this plant only flowered in 191 6 and the specimen does not represent the holotype, nor original material. At any rate, if the name A. longibracteata did not have a holotype, an author must definitely accept the designation of a type for it to be effective ( Turland et al. 2018: Art. 7.11).

The sheet at Herb. PRE ( PRE 0086205-0) dated May 1914 is thus the holotype of the name Aloe longibracteata . The other sheet at Herb. PRE ( PRE 0086134-0) dated 8 June 1916 was evidently prepared from material that was collected along with the plant pressed and preserved as the type. It flowered in Pretoria two years later, and therefore after publication of the name A. longibracteata in 1915. It can therefore not be regarded as original material. A sheet of Pole Evans 56 at Herb. K, dated 1916/06/08, has a label that is identical to that of the specimen with the same date at Herb. PRE. It was accessioned at Herb. K on 2 March 1920 and contains a hand-written note in pencil: ‘Not TYPE number—probably from type plant’. We regard this assumption as correct and this specimen is a duplicate of the one at Herb. PRE ( PRE 0086134-0) with the same date.

Since the holotype ( PRE0086205 -0) of A. longibracteata only consists of a partial infructescence and an envelope with seeds, the Herb. PRE specimen dated 8 June 1916 ( PRE0086134 -0; consisting of a leaf, cross section through the leaf, and an inflorescence) is here designated as epitype, with the duplicate at Herb. K (consisting of a leaf, inflorescence, and an envelope with leaf fragments, flowers, fruit, and seed) being an isoepitype.

Description:—Plants small, low-growing, solitary, rarely 1- to 2-branched from the base, rosette erect to slightly leaning, up to (10–) 15 cm tall. Stem ± absent, short, simple and thickened lower down if present, clothed in very hard, persistent, twisted, dried leaves. Leaves very densely rosulate, at first erect, then horizontally spreading, 10–15 cm long, (7–) 9–10 cm wide at base, dull light to dark green, deltoid-lanceolate, abaxially pale green, longitudinally darker green or light purplish-lined, lines very narrow, adaxially sparsely white-spotted especially towards base or immaculate, white spots ± oblong to oval, sometimes arranged in interrupted, obscure, wavy transverse bands, texture smooth; margins shiny-orange-brown to shiny-dark brown, armed with prominent, short, very pungent, deltoid, shinybrown, dark-tipped teeth, ± 5–7(–9) mm long, 3–5(–9) mm apart, variously curved towards leaf base or more rarely straight. Inflorescence usually 1–2 produced successively per season, unbranched raceme or 2- to 3(–4)-branched panicle, 0.5–0.7(–0.8) m tall, erect, often apically cat tail-like curved, branched at or below middle, branches erect at narrow angle from peduncle; peduncle rather stout, lacking sterile bracts below racemes, panicle branches subtended by prominent fertile bracts irregularly deltoid to lanceolate-triangular, ± 25–50 mm long, usually dark to light brown, drying rapidly, longitudinally dark brown lined. Racemes narrowly cylindrical, distinctly tapering upwards, 20–30 cm long, ± 4–6 cm wide where flowers are at anthesis, usually rather densely flowered; buds erect to erectly spreading, flowers pendulous at anthesis. Floral bracts prominent, narrowly lanceolate, variously twisted, ± 45–50 mm long, longer than pedicels, much narrower than fertile bracts, drying rapidly, light brown to creamy white. Pedicels (10–)15– 20(–25) mm long, yellowish green when young, becoming reddish with age. Flowers: perianth: buds uniformly shiny strawberry-pink to peach-red, prominently green-striated in apical half; open flowers ± uniformly shiny strawberrypink to peach-red in basal ½, mouth slightly paler and yellowish white inside, 40–50 mm long, ± 7–8 mm across ovary, narrowed above ovary to yield small bulbous base, distinctly enlarged towards mouth, middle ± gradually enlarging towards mouth, ± straight to down-curved to horizontally spreading; tips of segments spreading, outer segments free for ⅓–½ of their length; stamens with filiform-flattened filaments, uniformly light yellow, hardly exserted; ovary (6–)7(–8) mm long, 2–3 mm in diam., light green; style slightly exserted, uniformly light yellow; stigma tiny, very slightly capitate, yellowish. Fruit a loculicidal capsule, 30(–35) × 15(–20) mm, light green turning purplish light brown with age, dry remains of perianth variously persistent. Seed 2 × 3 mm, black, ± D-shaped, angled, with prominent white to transparent wing. Chromosome number: 2 n = 14 ( Groenewald 1941: 167, Riley & Majumdar 1979: 46).

Distribution:— Aloe longibracteata has a fairly restricted distribution in northeastern South Africa, mainly west of the escarpment, where it occurs from Mashishing (formerly Lydenburg) to Dullstroom in Mpumalanga Province, to Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg) and Tzaneen in Limpopo Province, South Africa ( Fig. 9 ). It is especially common around Mashishing.

Flowering time:—Mostly (June–)July–August, but some forms can flower as late as November.

Additional specimens investigated:— SOUTH AFRICA. Mpumalanga: Middelburg district, Farm Hartbeeshoek west of Belfast , 10 June 1995, P . M . Burgoyne 3735 & 3754 ( PRE). Between Lydenburg and Dullstroom , 26 June 2007, O . M . Grace, E . van Wyk, L . Nkuna, F . W . Mabatha 66 ( K, 2 sheets). Lydenburg , 21 August 1914, I . B . Pole Evans 19 ( PRE); ibidem, 22 July 1919, ibidem, I . B . Pole Evans 220 ( PRE, 2 sheets); 15 August 1921, I . B . Pole Evans 239 ( PRE, 2 sheets). Lydenburg , south of town, 7 August 2021, G . F . Smith 1157 ( PRU); ibidem, 3 September 2021, G . F . Smith 1163 ( PRU). Lydenburg, Sukukuni, Farm Avontuur , 30 June 1936, W . G . Barnard 532 ( PRE). Lydenburg, Buffelsvlei , 20 July 1935, G . W . Reynolds 1466 ( PRE). Northwest of Lydenburg , 20 July 1935, G . W . Reynolds 1460 ( PRE, 2 sheets). North of Lydenburg, near Potloodspruit , 19 June 1937, G . W . Reynolds 2470 ( K; PRE); ibidem, 2 August 1938, G . W . Reynolds 2885 ( K; PRE). Martins Hoop, from Lydenburg on road to Magnet Heights , 12 July 1936, G . W . Reynolds 1961 ( K; PRE). West of Hangslaagte, top of Dwarsriviersberg , 12 July 1936, G . W . Reynolds 1959 ( K, 2 sheets; PRE, 2 sheets). Lydenburg, Sekukuniland, Schoonoord , west of Lulu Mountains , 12 July 1936, G . W . Reynolds 1956 ( K, 2 sheets; PRE). Sekhukhuniland, Lulu Mountains, Farm Groot Vygenboom , 3 September 1936, A . O . D. Mogg 16982 ( PRE). Graskop, The Bonnet area , 19 June 1990, W . S . Matthews 920 ( PRE). West of Pilgrims Rest , 12 November 1952, W . Marais 16 ( K; PRE) .

SOUTH AFRICA. Limpopo: Ohrigstad Dam Nature Reserve , 6 August 1968, D. Edwards 4051 ( K; PRE); ibidem, 28 August 1973, N Jacobsen 2951 ( PRE). East of Ohrigstad , Brown’s Hill, 17 November 1935, G. W . Reynolds 1648 ( PRE). Ohrigstad to Penge, 22 August 1973, J. P . Nel 339 ( K; NBG; PRE). Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve , 2 June 1986, M . Stalmans 1312 ( PRE). Strydom Tunnel towards Ohrigstad , 23 June 1971, E . Buitendag 846 ( NBG; PRE). Tzaneen, Flowering in garden Division of Botany , 9 August 1915, T . Behrens 123 ( PRE, 2 sheets). Tzaneen , 8 August 1935, G. W . Reynolds 1518 ( K; PRE, 2 sheets); ibidem, August 1936, F. Z . van der Merwe PRE 38131 ( K; PRE). East of Tzaneen , 8 August 1935, G. W . Reynolds 1517 ( K; PRE). Southwest of Pietersburg , May 1935, G. W . Reynolds 1343 ( PRE); ibidem, July 1939, I. C . Verdoorn & A. O . D. Mogg PRE 38133 ( PRE); ibidem, 27 July 1939, I. C . Verdoorn & A. O . D. Mogg PRE 38134 ( PRE); ibidem, 13 October 1947, L. E . Codd & B . de Winter 3069 ( PRE). Southwest of Pietersburg on road to Potgietersrus, 30 October 1938, G. W . Reynolds 3075 ( K; PRE, 3 sheets). South of Pietersburg , 6 August 1966, D. C. H . Plowes 2593 ( PRE). Percy Fyfe Nature Reserve , 24 October 1969, B. J . Huntley 1490 ( PRE). Chuniespoort Hotel , May 1935, A. A . Obermeyer & I. C . Verdoorn 8 A ( PRE, 2 sheets). Lebowa, Arabie , 3 July 1981, W . Ellery 234 ( PRE). Potgietersrus , 2 August 1927, F. Z . van der Merwe PRE7409 ( PRE). North of Nylstroom , 4 August 1935, G. W . Reynolds 1496 ( PRE) .

Figures

FIGURE 9. Known natural geographical distribution range of Aloe longibracteata.