Aloiampelos Juddii
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''Aloiampelos juddii'', formerly ''Aloe juddii'', the Koudeberg aloe, is a newly discovered species that is native to a few rocky outcrops and a farm ("Farm 215"), near to Cape Agulhas in the
Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
,
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 ...
.


Description

It is one of the few members of the tribe Aloeae that are indigenous to the
fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...
vegetation type and it is closely related to the similarly rare ''
Aloiampelos commixta ''Aloiampelos commixta'' is a flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is commonly called Table Mountain aloe, and is a rare succulent plant that is endemic to the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. It naturally occurs only on the Table Moun ...
'' of Table Mountain. Like this species, it is a slender, multi-stemmed
succulent plant 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 ...
, with semi-erect stems that often sprawl along the ground and over rocks. In October and November it produces brilliant displays of bright red
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s, that are usually swiftly eaten by the tiny "
Klipspringer The klipspringer (; ''Oreotragus oreotragus'') is a small antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The sole member of its genus and subfamily/tribe, the klipspringer was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimm ...
" antelope that live in the area. It was named after the artist Eric Judd, who discovered it in 2004, and is known in
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 ...
as the ''"Baardskeerdersbosvuurpylaalwyn"''.


Distribution and habitat

''Aloiampelos juddii'' has a small and restricted distribution. It occurs on rocky, south-east facing slopes, in sands derived from Table Mountain Sandstone (Nardouw subgroup). These are coarse, white sands, which are mineral-poor and acidic. The plants grow in this cool sand in the shelter of the quartzite boulders which shelter them from the winds and the heat. It is an area of predominantly winter rainfall. This plant has yet to be classified according to the IUCN Red List but is nevertheless rare and restricted to a very small natural range.


See also

* ''
Aloiampelos commixta ''Aloiampelos commixta'' is a flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is commonly called Table Mountain aloe, and is a rare succulent plant that is endemic to the Cape Peninsula, South Africa. It naturally occurs only on the Table Moun ...
'' * ''
Aloiampelos decumbens ''Aloiampelos decumbens'', formerly ''Aloe decumbens'', the Langeberg rambling-aloe, is a sprawling, succulent plant that is endemic to the fynbos vegetation of the Langeberg Mountains near Swellendam and Riversdale, Western Cape, Riversdale in t ...
''


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q42729475, from2=Q29764 Asphodeloideae Flora of the Cape Provinces Vulnerable plants