Aloe vanrooyenii Gideon F.Sm. & N.R.Crouch, 2006

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

Common names.

Van Rooyen’s aloe (English); vanrooyense-aalwyn (Afrikaans).

Description.

Acaulescent plants; rosettes solitary, very rarely suckering to form small groups; with persistent dried leaves. Leaves densely rosulate, distinctly spreading, reflexed, upper surface shiny pale green, with pale milky green to whitish, variously shaped spots, often more or less confluent in transverse bands, lower surface uniformly milky green, rarely with longitudinal darker greenish striations, deltoid-lanceolate, attenuate, 12-15 cm long, 6-8 cm wide, apex dry, sometimes with small teeth at keel near apex; margins whitish, near-translucent, with very pungent, brownish-orange, recurved teeth, 3-4 mm long, 3-4 mm apart; exudate clear, drying purplish. Inflorescence 0.5-0.8 m high, erect, 1- or 2-branched below middle. Racemes cylindrical to slightly conical, 25-47 cm long, 7-9 cm wide, lax. Floral bracts 8-10 mm long. Pedicels 8-10 mm long. Flowers: perianth orange or red, 33-38 mm long, 8-10 mm across ovary, abruptly constricted above ovary to form globose basal swelling, widening towards wide open mouth, cylindrical-trigonous; outer segments free for 8-15 mm; stamens exserted up to 3 mm; style slightly exserted.

Flowering time.

October-November.

Habitat.

Thornveld savannah.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe vanrooyenii 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 suffulta , Aloe vanrooyenii and Aloe viridiana ) by the 1- or 2-branched inflorescence with lax, cylindrical to slightly conical racemes (25-47 × 7-9 cm) with pedicels 8-10 mm long. It is further characterised by the very large, erect fruit (25-28 × 14-18 mm in fresh state), which cause the peduncle to bend towards the ground as it cannot support the weight of the large mature capsules. Flowers are orange or red, 33-38 mm long and with a globose basal swelling (8-10 mm diameter). Leaves are distinctly spreading and reflexed, 12-15 × 6-8 cm and spotted on the upper surface, while the lower surface is rarely lineate. Marginal teeth are 3-4 mm long. This is the only early summer-flowering maculate aloe in KwaZulu-Natal ( Smith and Crouch 2006).

Conservation status.

Least Concern ( Raimondo et al. 2009).

Distribution.

Known from the region linking Ladysmith, Newcastle and Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Fig. 47 ).

Figures

Figure 47. Aloe vanrooyenii. Photo: G. F. Smith.