Aloe minima
| Aloe minima | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Aloe minima | ||||||||||||
| Baker |
Aloe minima is a species of the genus Aloes in the subfamily of the Affodill family (Asphodeloideae). The specific epithet minima comes from Latin , means 'very small' and refers to the small size of the plants.
description
Vegetative characteristics
Aloe minima grows stemless and simply with spindle-shaped roots . The six to ten linear leaves form a rosette . The green leaf blade is 25 to 35 inches long and 0.4 to 0.6 inches wide. On the underside of the leaf there are many somewhat warty spots near the base. Tiny, whitish teeth are only formed in the lower half of the leaf margin.
Inflorescences and flowers
The simple inflorescence reaches a length of 30 to 50 centimeters. The dense, heady grapes are about 3 inches long and 4 inches wide. They consist of about 15 flowers. The egg-shaped pointed bracts have a length of 12 millimeters and are 5 millimeters wide. The cloudy pinkish red flowers are on 10 to 20 millimeter long peduncles . The flowers are 10 to 11 millimeters long and narrowed at their base. Above the ovary , they are narrowed towards the mouth. Your tepals are not fused together. The stamens and the style protrude up to 1 millimeter from the flower.
Systematics and distribution
Aloe minima is common in South Africa and Swaziland . The distribution area of Aloe minima var. Minima extends from the South African province of Mpumalanga south to Swaziland. The variety grows on stony grasslands from sea level to heights of 2000 meters. Aloe minima var. Blyderivierensis is only common on grasslands in a small area near Pilgrims Rest in the South African province of Mpumalanga.
The first description by John Gilbert Baker was published in 1895. A synonym is Leptaloe minima (Baker) Stapf (1933).
A distinction is made between the following varieties :
- Aloe minima var. Minima
- Aloe minima var. Blyderivierensis (Groenew.) Reynolds
Aloe minima var. Blyderivierensis
The differences to Aloe minima var. Minima are: The four to six, somewhat wider leaves are arranged in two rows. The inflorescence reaches a length of up to 60 centimeters and the flowers are 12 millimeters long. The first description as Leptaloe blyderivierensis by Barend Hermanus Groenewald was published in 1937. Reynolds introduced the species in 1947 as a variety to Aloe minima .
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. 114 .
- Leonard Eric Newton: Aloe minima . In: Urs Eggli (Hrsg.): Succulent lexicon. Monocotyledons . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3662-7 , pp. 160 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gideon F. Smith, Colin C. Walker, Estrela Figueiredo: What's in a name: epithets in Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae) and what to call the next new species . In: Bradleya . Volume 28, 2010, p. 96.
- ↑ Icones plantarum or figures, with brief descriptive characters and remarks, of new or rare plants, selected from the author's herbarium . Volume 25, 1895, plate 2423 ( online ).
- ^ Flowering Plants of South Africa . Volume 17, 1937, p. 651.
- ^ Journal of South African Botany . Volume 13, number 2, 1947, p. 101, plate 15.
Web links
- Aloe minima in the Red List of South African Plants