Aloe inconspicua Plowes, 1986

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 inconspicua Plowes

Description.

Grass aloe. Acaulescent plants, rosettes solitary, erect, with old persistent leaf bases forming a subterranean ovoid bulb-like swelling. Leaves rosulate, erect, deciduous, dark green, upper surface without spots, lower surface with narrow elongate white spots in basal half, narrowly linear, acuminate, 10-20 cm long, 0.3-0.4 cm wide, dilating below ground to 3 cm; margin narrow, translucent, with soft translucent teeth, 0.5 mm long, 2-4 mm apart. Inflorescence ± 0.15 m high, erect, simple. Raceme narrowly triangular to cylindrical, ± 7 cm long, 2 cm wide, very dense. Floral bracts 13-15 mm long. Pedicels absent. Flowers: perianth green, 15 mm long, narrowing slightly towards slightly bilabiate mouth, cylindrical-trigonous; outer segments free to base; stamens exserted to 1 mm; style not exserted.

Flowering time.

November.

Habitat.

In sparse short grass in areas of dry, low-altitude, thorny, open woodland. Grows in the transition zone between open grassland and valley bushveld. Shale and sandstone. Hot summers, but can be very cold in winter.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe inconspicua can be distinguished from other grass aloes in KwaZulu-Natal where the leaf bases form a subterranean bulb-like swelling ( Aloe bergeriana , Aloe kniphofioides and Aloe modesta ), by the very narrow leaves (10-20 × 0.3-0.4 cm) that are heavily spotted on the lower surface and with soft transluscent marginal teeth. It is also characterised by the very dense, unbranched, cylindrical raceme ( ± 7 cm long) with sessile, suberectly spreading, green, slightly bilabiate, unscented flowers (15 mm long).

Conservation status.

Endangered. Threats include habitat degradation owing to overgrazing, subsistence farming and urban expansion ( Raimondo et al. 2009).

Distribution.

Only known from the Bushmans River catchment between Weenen and Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Fig. 17 ).

Figures

Figure 17. Aloe inconspicua. Photos: P. Joffe (flowers), E. van Wyk (plant).