Aloe parvibracteata Schoenland, 2020

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

Aloe parvibracteata Schoenland nom. cons.

Common names.

Lowveld spotted aloe (English); pers-bontaalwyn (Afrikaans); icena, inkalane (Zulu).

Description.

Acaulescent plants or stem very short, up to 0.4 m tall; rosettes suckering to form large dense groups. Leaves densely rosulate, spreading-decurved, upper surface green to brownish-green to purplish-green, with numerous oblong dull white spots, usually arranged in interrupted, undulating transverse bands, lower surface paler green, usually without spots, narrowly lanceolate, gradually attenuate, 30-40 cm long, 6-10 cm wide at base; margin with pungent brown teeth, sometimes remarkably deflexed, 3-5 mm long, 10-15 mm apart; exudate honey-coloured, drying deep purple. Inflorescences 1.0-1.5 m high, erect, 4- to 8-branched from above middle. Racemes cylindrical, slightly acuminate, terminal 15-30 cm long, 6-7 cm wide, lateral shorter, lax. Floral bracts 8-12 mm long. Pedicels 6-15 mm long. Flowers: perianth dull to somewhat glossy red or orange, 30-40 mm long, 7-9 mm across ovary, abruptly constricted above ovary to form globose basal swelling, enlarging towards sometimes wide-open mouth, slightly decurved; outer segments free for 8-10 mm; stamens and style exserted 1-2 mm.

Flowering time.

June-July.

Habitat.

On rocky outcrops in flat grassland in hot, low-lying thorny savannah and similar thorny woodland in the Lebombo Mountains.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe parvibracteata can be distinguished from other maculate aloes in KwaZulu-Natal ( Aloe dewetii , Aloe maculata subsp. maculata , Aloe mudenensis , Aloe prinslooi , Aloe pruinosa , Aloe suffulta , Aloe umfoloziensis , Aloe vanrooyenii and Aloe viridiana ) by the rosettes that sucker profusely to form large groups. It is further characterised by the spreading-decurved almost depressed leaves (30-40 × 6-10 cm) that give the rosette a 'flattened out’ appearance. Leaves are spotted on the upper surface, while the paler lower surface is usually without spots and marginal teeth are 3-5 mm long. The 4- to 8-branched inflorescence (1.0-1.5 m high) has a very slender (but rigidly erect) peduncle and branches. Racemes are lax, cylindrical-acuminate and 15-30 cm long, with pedicels 6-15 mm long. Flowers are dull to somewhat glossy red or orange, 30-40 mm long and with a globose basal swelling (7-9 mm diameter).

Conservation status.

Least Concern ( Raimondo et al. 2009).

Distribution.

Northern KwaZulu-Natal, eastern Mpumalanga and Limpopo in South Africa, also in Eswatini, southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe (Fig. 30 ).

Notes.

Until recently, Aloe monteiroae Baker was regarded as an insufficiently known species, since its true identity could not be determined with certainty (see Reynolds 1950 and Carter 2001). The discovery of a population of aloes near Komatipoort, Mpumalanga, that match the description of A. monteiroae has enabled Crouch et al. (2015) to confirm that it is conspecific with A. parvibracteata . However, A. monteiroae is the older of the two names. To avoid nomenclatural disruptions by allowing a previously unknown name to replace one that has for long been in common use for a widespread aloe, a successful proposal was published to conserve the familiar name Aloe parvibracteata and enable its continued use for this aloe ( Klopper et al. 2015; Wilson 2017).

Figures

Figure 30. Aloe parvibracteata. Photo: G. F. Smith.