Aloe nyeriensis
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Aloe nyeriensis is a species in the genus of aloe ( Aloe ).
description
Aloe nyeriensis is a shrubby, evergreen succulent plant that reaches heights of between 1 and 3 meters. The shoot axis branches directly at the base or just above, the side shoot axes are upright and between 4.5 and 7 cm thick. The fresh foliage leaves crowd at the tip of the side shoots, underneath are dry, dead leaves, which then fall further down, revealing the bare trunk. The leaf blade is lanceolate and up to 55 cm long and up to 8 cm wide. There are wider leaves towards the base. The blades are fleshy and gray-green in color. Young leaves are often spotted on both sides, with brown mottled edges. On the edge of the leaf there are forward-pointing teeth that are 3 to 4 mm long and 10 to 12 mm apart. The leaves are filled with a yellowish, watery juice.
The upright inflorescence is 50 to 80 cm long, it is divided into three to six upturned branches, the lowest of which often branch out further. Each branch has an 8 to 20 cm long, cylindrical to heady, paniculate partial inflorescence , which reaches a diameter of 7 cm and is densely covered with flowers . The bracts are lanceolate to oval and between 6 and 9 mm long and 3 to 4 mm wide; They are matt brown with dark veins and feel like paper. The flower stalks are 10 to 20 mm long. The hermaphrodite flowers are threefold. The three free sepals are slightly curved outwards. The three bright scarlet petals are often glossy, speckled green at the base and grown together cylindrically with a length of 35 to 40 mm and a diameter of about 7 mm. The stamens reach out from the flower envelope. The stylus is yellow.
The short-stalked, black-brown, oval capsule fruits are 16 to 19 mm long and about 9 mm wide. The dark brown, about 8 mm long and 3 mm wide seeds have wide, pale wings .
Occurrence
This species is endemic to Kenya . Stocks were found in the Laikipia District 29 km east of Nyahururu and in the Nyeri District near Naro Moro . Two other small stocks can be found at the Ngobit Bridge 50 km northeast of Nyeri and at the Suguroi Bridge 45 km east of Nyahururu.
Aloe nyeriensis grows on rocky soils in the savanna , often in association with acacia ( Acacia ) at altitudes from 1,760 to 2,100 meters.
Botanical history
Aloe nyeriensis was first described by Hugh Basil Christian in 1952 . The holotype is in the National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Causeway, Harare, formerly Salisbury, Zimbabwe (SRGH) and comes from the Nyeri district, 39 km north of Nyeri.
In 1953 Gilbert Westacott Reynolds described another specimen from the inventory at the Ngobit Bridge as a separate species. The authors of the Flora of Tropical East Africa did not follow this view. Aloe ngobitensis is now considered a synonym for Aloe nyeriensis .
In 1957, Peter Edward Brandham discovered a natural hybrid between Aloe nyeriensis and Aloe graminicola with yellow flowers near the Suguroi Bridge .
literature
- Susan Carter: Aloaceae . In: RM Polhill (Ed.): Flora of Tropical East Africa . 1994, ISBN 90-6191-364-0 .
