Aloe hlangapies Groenew.

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

NE Aloe hlangapies Groenew.

Description.

Grass aloe. Acaulescent plants or stem short, up to 0.15 m; rosettes usually solitary or suckering to form small groups; with persistent dried leaves. Leaves distichous, deciduous, erect to spreading, dull green, upper surface usually without spots, sometimes sparingly spotted, lower surface usually copiously white-spotted near base, lorate-acuminate, 35-50 cm long, 5-6 cm wide; margin with soft, white teeth, ± 0.5 mm long, 5-15 mm apart; exudate clear. Inflorescence ± 0.5 m high, erect, simple. Raceme capitate, up to 7 cm long, 9-10 cm wide, dense. Floral bracts 15 mm long, 7 mm wide. Pedicels ± 25 mm long. Flowers: perianth apricot-yellow, only rarely red or yellow, greenish tipped, 28-30 mm long, 8-10 mm across ovary, slightly widening towards middle, narrowing towards mouth, base tapering into pedicel, straight, cylindrical; outer segments free for 23-25 mm; stamens and style exserted to 1 mm.

Flowering time.

October-November.

Habitat.

Damp, low-lying grassland and on grassy slopes.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe hlangapies 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 kraussii and Aloe neilcrouchii ), by the rosette of erect to spreading, distichous leaves (35-50 × 5-6 cm), with the upper surface usually without spots and the lower surface usually copiously white-spotted near the base. It is further characterised by the unbranched inflorescences ( ± 0.5 m high) that have dense, capitate racemes (up to 7 cm long) with relatively long (28-30 mm long), usually apricot-yellow and greenish tipped, tubular flowers.

Conservation status.

Vulnerable. Threats include habitat loss owing to silviculture, agriculture and urban expansion, as well as overgrazing and alien invasives. There is also a potential threat from coal mining (L. von Staden pers. comm.).

Distribution.

Only known from the area on the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga in South Africa and just entering south-western Eswatini (Fig. 16 ).

Notes.

Near Wakkerstroom and Volksrust in KwaZulu-Natal, Aloe hlangapies merges into intermediates with Aloe ecklonis Salm-Dyck ( Reynolds 1950).

Figures

Figure 16. Aloe hlangapies. Photo: J. E. Burrows.