Aloe nicholsii Gideon F.Sm. & N.R.Crouch, 2010

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 nicholsii Gideon F.Sm. & N.R.Crouch

Common names.

Shiny aloe (English); blinkaalwyn (Afrikaans).

Description.

Grass aloe of ± 0.30-0.36 m tall. Stem short, ± 0.06-0.14 m high, erect, sometimes unbranched, usually suckering to form clumps; without persistent dried leaves. Leaves distichous becoming semi-rosulate, flaccidly spreading, mid-green to light yellowish-green, occasionally with a few scattered white spots towards base, spots more common on lower surface, texture smooth, narrowly linear, tapering towards apex, canaliculate, 20-46 cm long, 2.0-3.5 cm wide; margin coarse, faintly ivory-coloured, mostly without teeth or sometimes with tiny, harmless, triangular, ivory-coloured to greenish-white teeth, less than 0.5 mm long, 5-10 mm apart; exudate drying translucent. Inflorescence 0.30-0.46 m tall, erect, simple. Raceme capitate, 3.0-3.5 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, dense. Floral bracts 10-26 mm long. Pedicels 25-30 mm long. Flowers: perianth metallic salmon-pink above, greenish below, purplish-brown tipped, lightly pruinose, 13-16 mm long, 5 mm across middle, enlarging towards slightly open, distinctly upturned mouth, tubular cymbiform; outer segments free for most of their length; stamens not exserted; style exserted.

Flowering time.

January-March.

Habitat.

Open rocky grassland.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe nicholsii can be distinguished from other grass aloes in KwaZulu-Natal with unkeeled leaves that are usually narrower than 3.5 cm and that lack a bulb-like underground swelling ( Aloe dominella , Aloe linearifolia , Aloe micracantha , Aloe minima , Aloe parviflora and Aloe saundersiae ), by the unbranched inflorescences (0.30-0.46 m high) with dense, capitate racemes and pedicels 25-30 mm long. The small flowers (13-16 mm long) are pruinose, greenish below and a metallic salmon-pink above, with a distinctly upturned mouth. The distichous to semi-rosulate leaves (20-46 × 2.0-3.5 cm) are flaccidly spreading and occasionally with a few scattered white spots towards the base, more commonly on the lower surface. Rosettes are usually in dense groups ( Crouch et al. 2011).

Conservation status.

Critically Endangered. Threats include habitat degradation due to overgrazing, urban expansion and commercial afforestation ( Von Staden 2013).

Distribution.

Known from a small area near Babanango in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, South Africa (Fig. 29 ).

Figures

Figure 29. Aloe nicholsii. Photo: N. R. Crouch.