Abstract
A new species of Aloe (Asphodelaceae) is described from Somaliland. It differs from other species in forming large clumps and in having sap that is initially yellow but quickly turns bright red and then dark red or reddish-brown, paniculate red-flowered inflorescences and uniformly coloured leaves with red teeth. Its recognition raises the number of species known from the combined area of Somaliland and Somalia s.s. from 31 to 36. A map portraying species density of Aloe by country, as that genus is now interpreted, shows that Aloe has its highest density on islands in the Indian Ocean but that, within Africa, the greatest density is in countries along the eastern highlands. The data also reinforce the importance of field botanists in determining a country’s known plant diversity.
Highlights
The genus Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae) includes over 600 species, all native to Africa, islands in the western Indian Ocean or the Arabian Peninsula (Newton 2004; Carter et al 2011; Klopper and Smith 2013)
Based on the comments by Thulin, Lavranos and McCoy and the apparent functionality of the anthers and styles, we proposed recognising the Somali Red Aloe as a new species in July but, at the urging of the reviewers, Barkworth reviewed all the Aloe images made available by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew (Kew 2018), specimens in the herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden and, together with Gelle, those in the East African Herbarium of National Museums, Kenya
Because many of the distinguishing features of Aloes are poorly preserved in herbarium specimens, we reviewed the species descriptions for specimens that could not, based on the herbarium specimens seen, readily be distinguished from the Somali Red Aloe
Summary
The genus Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae) includes over 600 species, all native to Africa, islands in the western Indian Ocean or the Arabian Peninsula (Newton 2004; Carter et al 2011; Klopper and Smith 2013). In 2014, Awale noticed an Aloe growing alongside a road near Alala Adka (Alaala Cadka) [Names are shown in English, followed by the Somali name in parentheses], Marodi Jeh (Maroodi Jeex) Region, Somaliland, that was unlike other native species in the area in forming large, dense patches (Fig. 1).
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