''Gonialoe'' (the partridge aloes) is a small genus of three succulent plant species, indigenous 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 ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. They were formerly included within the related 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 ...

''. The three species are ''

Gonialoe variegata ''Gonialoe variegata'' ( syn. ''Aloe variegata''), also known as tiger aloe and partridge-breasted aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is an evergreen succulent perennial indigenous to South Africa and Namibia. ...

Gonialoe sladeniana ''Gonialoe sladeniana'' is a species of plant in the genus ''Gonialoe''. It is endemic to arid areas of central Namibia. Description The small, stemless rosettes produce suckers that offshoot from the root, which can eventually form dense clump ...

Gonialoe dinteri ''Gonialoe dinteri'', the Namibian partridge aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is native to arid areas of Angola and Namibia. Description The plants form stemless rosettes of up to 30 cm wide. Smaller s ...

''.

Taxonomy

The genus ''

'' was found to be polyphyletic. It was accordingly divided into different genera: ''

'', ''

Kumara Kumara may refer to: Places * Kumara (Mali), a province * Kumara, New Zealand, a town * Kumara (New Zealand electorate), a Parliamentary electorate Other uses * Kumara Illangasinghe, an Anglican bishop in Sri Lanka * Kumara (surname) * The Four ...

'', ''

Aloiampelos ''Aloiampelos'' (combination of 'Aloe' and 'ampelos'=vine or creeper), formerly ''Aloe'' ser. ''Macrifoliae'' (the climbing-aloes) is a genus of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae, comprising seven species found in Southern Africa. ...

'', and ''Gonialoe'', among others. Several recent phylogenetic studies have confirmed this division, and shown that ''

'' actually consists of several relatively unrelated groups. The same studies suggested that the closest relatives of this proposed genus were the related genera ''

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 ''

Tulista ''Tulista'' is a small genus of succulent plants endemic to South Africa. They were formerly included within the genus ''Haworthia''. Characteristics The genus is characterised by a large size (relative to other haworthias), by their stemless ro ...

''.

Species

The three species of this genus can easily be recognised by their compact, triangular leaves forming three vertical or spiraling ranks (trifarious).Molteno, S. (2022) "Phyllotaxis in Asphodelaceae subfam. Alooideae: a tool in taxon delimitation." ''Haseltonia'' 28(1), https://doi.org/10.2985/026.028.0107

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q39151593 Flora of Southern Africa Asphodelaceae genera Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker Taxa named by John Charles Manning