Aloe suffulta Reynolds, 1937

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 suffulta Reynolds

Common names.

Sand aloe, climbing flower aloe (English); sandaalwyn (Afrikaans).

Description.

Shortly caulescent plants; rosettes solitary or sometimes suckering to form dense groups. Stem 0.1-0.2 m long, decumbent, with persistent dried leaves. Leaves loosely rosulate to cauline dispersed, spreading and recurved, dark glossy green, with dull white spots, spots sometimes irregularly scattered, usually more or less arranged in series of interrupted undulating transverse bands, larger and more confluent on lower surface, lanceolate-attenuate, 40-50 cm long, 2.5-4.0 cm wide at base; sheath 5-10 mm long, striatulate, light green, not auriculate; margin with whitish teeth, 1-2 mm long, 5-10 mm apart; exudate pale honey-coloured. Inflorescence 1-2 m high, supported by shrubs, 5- to 9-branched. Racemes cylindrical, slightly acuminate, terminal ± 15 cm long, lateral ± 8 cm long, lax. Floral bracts 4-6 mm long, 2-4 mm wide. Pedicels 7-10 mm long. Flowers: perianth salmon-pink, whitish at mouth, 25-35 mm long, ± 6 mm across ovary, slightly narrowed above ovary, enlarging towards wide-open mouth, slightly curved, cylindrical-trigonous; outer segments free for 7 mm; stamens exserted to 6 mm; style exserted to 8 mm.

Flowering time.

June-July.

Habitat.

Under bushes, in sand with loose humus, on heavy black clay soils or on termite mounds, in very hot places. Very susceptible to cold.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe suffulta can be distinguished from other maculate aloes in KwaZulu-Natal ( Aloe dewetii , Aloe maculata subsp. maculata , Aloe mudenensis , Aloe parvibracteata , Aloe prinslooi , Aloe pruinosa , Aloe umfoloziensis , Aloe vanrooyenii and Aloe viridiana ) by the 5- to 9-branched, climbing inflorescence (1-2 m high) with its very slender peduncle (7-9 mm diameter) that is supported by surrounding bushes. It is further characterised by the spreading and recurved, green deeply channelled leaves (40-50 × 2.5-4.0 cm) that are laxly rosulate to cauline dispersed (with striatulate sheaths) and are spotted on both surfaces, with marginal teeth 1-2 mm long. Flowers are salmon-pink, 25-35 mm long and lack the distinctive globose basal swelling of the maculate aloes. Pedicels are 7-10 mm long.

Conservation status.

Least Concern ( Raimondo et al. 2009).

Distribution.

Widespread but infrequent, from northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, through the coastal plains of southern Mozambique, to south-eastern Zimbabwe and southern Malawi (Fig. 42 ).

Figures

Figure 42. Aloe suffulta. Photos: J. B. Miller.