''Aloe peglerae'' (the "fez aloe") is a small, stemless South African

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 ...

. This unique

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 ...

plant is classed as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. The species was listed by

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

as an Appendix II species, requiring special trade protections to prevent the further endangerment of the current wild population due to the plant trade.

Description

The fez aloe is typically 30–40 cm in diameter, and 30–40 cm in height. The glaucous leaves are strongly incurved to form a compact, spherical rosette. The inflorescence can be observed in July and August, and usually consists of a single cylindrical spike 30–40 cm tall, occasionally forked. The visible portions of filaments are deep purple in colour.

Taxonomy

The species is named after Alice Marguerite Pegler (1861-1929), a botanist and naturalist who collected at first around Kentani, and later in the vicinity of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 2017 ...

. Her failing eyesight and health led her to confine her attention to

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

. She was paid the exceptional honour of being made a member of the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

. This species forms natural hybrids with ''

Aloe marlothii ''Aloe marlothii'' (also known as the mountain aloe or the flat-flowered aloe) is a large, single-stemmed Southern African aloe of rocky places and open flat country, occasionally growing up to 6 m tall. Description Named after Rudolf Marloth ...

'' and with ''

Aloe davyana ''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 ...

''.

Distribution

This species is endemic to

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 ...

, where it only occurs in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

and the

North West Province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

. In this limited range, it is naturally found only along the northern dip slopes of the

Magaliesberg The Magaliesberg (historically also known as ''Macalisberg'' or ''Cashan Mountains'') of northern South Africa, is a modest but well-defined mountain range composed mainly of quartzites. It rises at a point south of the Pilanesberg (and the Pil ...

and the Witwatersberg, the range just south and parallel to it. It is listed as endangered and is rapidly declining in the wild, primarily due to habitat destruction and illegal collecting.Aloe peglerae - Succulents.co.za
/ref>

Gallery

Aloe peglerae00.jpg, ''Aloe peglerae'' Aloe peglerae02.jpg, ''Aloe peglerae'' Aloe peglerae X Aloe marlothii02.jpg, Aloe peglerae X Aloe marlothii00.jpg,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aloe peglerae peglerae Flora of the Northern Provinces Endangered flora of Africa