''Aristaloe'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

flowering

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Asphodelaceae Asphodelaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asparagales. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists, but the circumscription has varied widely. In its current circumscription in the APG IV system, it includes about 40 ...

from

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. Its sole species is ''Aristaloe aristata'', known as guinea-fowl aloe or lace aloe.

Naming and taxonomy

This species is known locally as "serelei" (

Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free Sta ...

for "slippery one") or "langnaaldaalwyn" (

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

for "lacey aloe"). In English it is usually known as the "lace aloe" or "guinea-fowl aloe". The species was described by Adrian Hardy Haworth. Its species name ''"aristata"'' comes from the Latin for "bristly" or " awned", and refers to the lacy edges of the leaves. Its generic name has the same etymology. Recent

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

studies have demonstrated that the genus ''

Aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...

'' is

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

and that this unusual species is not in fact an aloe, but is more closely related to ''

Astroloba ''Astroloba'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae,Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards)"Asphodeloideae" ''Angiosperm Phylogeny Website'', retrieved 2016-06-10 native to the Cape Province of South Africa. ...

'' and to the four ''"Robustipedunculares"'' species of ''

Haworthia ''Haworthia'' is a large genus of small succulent plants endemic to Southern Africa (Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and South Africa). Like the aloes, they are members of the subfamily Asphodeloideae and they generally resemble mi ...

''. It has therefore been moved to its own genus, ''Aristaloe'', to account for its separate ancestry and genetic uniqueness.

Description

It is stemless, sawtoothed and

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

. The soft succulent leaves grow in rosettes, in a dense and imbricate arrangement. The leaves are lanceolate in shape, with bristly margins and a long thread-like tip (aristate). Its

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

-rich, tubular orange flowers tend to attract birds, bees, and wasps easily. When not in bloom, it is similar to and often confused with some other species, such as ''

Haworthiopsis fasciata ''Haworthiopsis fasciata'', formerly ''Haworthia fasciata'', is a species of succulent plant from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The species is rare in cultivation; most plants that are labelled as ''H. fasciata'' are actually ''Ha ...

''.

Distribution

It is

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

. Its natural range extends from the Karoo region of the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

and

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

Provinces of

, eastwards through the Free State and

, as far as the borders of

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Province. Within such a wide range, this adaptable little species inhabits a range of environments, from the dry, sandy Nama Karoo, to the high grasslands and cold mountain slopes of

, and the shady forested valleys of KwaZulu-Natal.

Cultivation

It is commonly cultivated as a garden plant around the world. It prefers well-drained soils, but can tolerate a range of rainfall systems. It can also tolerate temperatures down to -7 °C, due to its adaptation to cold mountain tops. However it may need to be grown indoors or under glass in extremely cold

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions, to give it some winter heat. This clumping species readily produces large numbers of off-sets, which can be separated and planted as a means of propagation. It has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q133923 Asphodeloideae Monotypic Asphodelaceae genera Flora of Southern Africa