Aloe inconspicua
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Aloe inconspicua is a species of the genus Aloes in the subfamily of the Affodilla family (Asphodeloideae). The specific epithet inconspicua comes from Latin , means 'inconspicuous' and refers to the growth habit of the species.
description
Vegetative characteristics
Aloe inconspicua grows stemless and is simple. The perennial leaf bases form an egg-shaped bulb up to 5 centimeters long and 2.5 centimeters wide. The fleshy roots are up to 3 millimeters thick and 10 to 12 inches long. The linearly tapering leaves form rosettes . The green leaf blade is 18 inches long and 0.3 to 0.4 inches wide. On the underside of the leaf, there are elongated white spots in the lower half. The soft, translucent teeth on the translucent edge of the leaf are 0.5 millimeters long and are 2 to 4 millimeters apart.
Inflorescences and flowers
The simple inflorescence reaches a length of about 150 centimeters. The lower branches are occasionally branched again. The rather dense, cylindrical grapes are about 7 inches long and 2 inches wide. They consist of about 30 flowers. The narrowly pointed bracts are 13 to 15 millimeters long. Flower stalks are missing. The green flowers have tepals with semi-translucent white edges. The flowers are 15 millimeters long and slightly narrowed towards the mouth. Your outer tepals are not fused together. The stamens and the stylus barely protrude from the flower.
ecology
Aloe inconspicua is pollinated exclusively by insects ( entomophilia ) and not by birds like other aloes. A frequent visitor is the fur bee species Amegilla fallax .
Systematics and distribution
Aloe inconspicua is widespread in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal in grassy clearings between acacias on clay slate and sandstone at heights of around 1000 to 1200 meters.
The first description by Darrel CH Plowes was published in 1986.
proof
literature
- Susan Carter , John J. Lavranos , Leonard E. Newton , Colin C. Walker : Aloes. The definitive guide . Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2011, ISBN 978-1-84246-439-7 , pp. 107 .
- Leonard Eric Newton: Aloe inconspicua . In: Urs Eggli (Hrsg.): Succulent lexicon. Monocotyledons . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3662-7 , pp. 147 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton: Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names . Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2010, ISBN 978-3-642-05597-3 , p. 116.
- ↑ AL Hargreaves, LD Harder, SD Johnson: Aloe inconspicua: The first record of an exclusively insect-pollinated aloe . In: South African Journal of Botany . Volume 74, Number 4, 2008, pp. 606-612 ( doi: 10.1016 / j.sajb.2008.02.009 ).
- ↑ Aloe . Volume 23, Number 2, pp. 1986, pp. 32-33.
Web links
- Aloe inconspicua in the Red List of South African Plants