''Aloe pembana'' (the "Pemba Aloe", previously ''Lomatophyllum pembanum'') is a species of ''

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 ...

'' indigenous to the island of Pemba and surrounding islets, off the coast of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Description

It is part of a group of aloes which bear fleshy berries, and were therefore classed as a separate group, ''

Lomatophyllum ''Aloe'' sect. ''Lomatophyllum'' is a taxonomic section within the genus ''Aloe'', comprising between 12 and 18 closely related species of Aloe from Madagascar and the Mascareigne islands. These species are distinguished by their having fleshy b ...

''. Within this group it is most closely related to ''

Aloe aldabrensis ''Aloe aldabrensis'' (the "Aldabra Aloe", previously ''Lomatophyllum aldabrensis'') is a species of ''Aloe'' endemic to the islands of Aldabra in the Indian Ocean, where it can still be found in coastal scrub on limestone-based soil. Description ...

'' and ''

Aloe alexandrei ''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 ...

'' - both also from islands in the Mozambique channel - as well as '' Aloe peyrierasii'' from the north east corner of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. The Pemba aloe differs from these species by its growth into dense clumps, its flower colour, and its longer inflorescence. The Pemba aloe forms short, erect stems, offsets and suckers from its base, and forms large clumps. Its leaves are a shiny green with white margins and teeth. Its multi-branched inflorescence bears red flowers in racemes, and its seeds develop in fleshy berries.

Distribution

While it was formerly widespread across Pemba and surrounding islands, it now only occurs on Misali island, off the Pemba coast, where it grows in dappled shade in the sandy coastal scrub.''Medicinal Plants, Volume 1'' Prota. 2008. The Pemba aloe occurs over an extremely small area, with only a few hundred individual plants remaining in the wild. This species was only fully discovered in 1995. It is currently threatened by habitat degradation, trampling by fishermen and collection for traditional medicine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aloe pembana pembana Endemic flora of Tanzania Endangered flora of Africa