Abstract
The KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa has a varied topography, geology and climate and presents diverse habitats that support a rich and diverse flora. Aloes are well represented in KwaZulu-Natal, with four genera [Aloe L., Aloiampelos Klopper & Gideon F.Sm., Aloidendron (A.Berger) Klopper & Gideon F.Sm. and Aristaloe Boatwr. & J.C.Manning] and 49 taxa occurring in the province. Fourteen of these are endemic and eleven near-endemic to the province. A floristic treatment of the aloes of KwaZulu-Natal is presented in the form of a synoptic review. Included are an identification key to the aloes that occur naturally in the province, species-level distribution maps and accompanying images, so providing for the first time, an atlas of aloe occurrence in this part of the subcontinent.
Highlights
The KwaZulu-Natal province covers an area of ± 92 290 km2 in the southeast of South Africa (Raimondo et al 2009)
Aloe boylei can be distinguished from other grass aloes in KwaZulu-Natal with its unkeeled leaves that are wider than 3.5 cm (Aloe ecklonis, Aloe hlangapies, Aloe kraussii and Aloe neilcrouchii), by the large rosette of erect, rosulate leaves (50–60 × 6–9 cm), with the upper surface usually without spots and the lower surface copiously white-spotted near the base
Aloe ecklonis can be distinguished from other grass aloes in KwaZulu-Natal with unkeeled leaves that are wider than 3.5 cm (Aloe boylei, Aloe hlangapies, Aloe kraussii and Aloe neilcrouchii), by the large rosettes of erectly spreading, rosulate leaves (30–40 × 3–10 cm), that sometimes have a few small, white spots near the base on the lower surface
Summary
A synoptic review of the aloes (Asphodelaceae, Alooideae) of KwaZulu-Natal, an ecologically diverse province in eastern South Africa. Peruzzi | Received 11 November 2019 | Accepted 31 January 2020 | Published 12 March 2020
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