Aloe dichotoma
| Quiver tree | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Aloe |
| Species: | A. dichotoma |
| Binomial name | |
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Aloe dichotoma Masson |
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| Subspecies | |
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Aloe dichotoma (the quiver tree or kokerboom) is a tall, branching species of aloe, indigenous to Southern Africa, specifically in the Northern Cape region of South Africa, and parts of Southern Namibia.
Known as Choje to the indigenous San people, the quiver tree gets its English common name from the San people practice of hollowing out the tubular branches of Aloe dichotoma to form quivers for their arrows. The species name "dichotoma" refers to how the stems repeatedly branch into two ("dichotomous" branching) as the plant grows.
The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families currently recognizes three subspecies, A. dichotoma subsp. dichotoma, A. dichotoma subsp. pillansii and A. dichotoma subsp. ramosissima.
These are also treated as three separate species, A. dichotoma, A. pillansii and A. ramosissima, which are then grouped within the Dracoaloe subsection of the genus Aloe. All inhabit the same arid areas of the Richtersveld and the Namib Desert around the South African-Namibian border. Treated as separate species, the three have been given different ratings on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: 'vulnerable' for A. dichotoma, 'critically endangered' for A. pillansii and 'endangered' for A. ramossisima.
The three subspecies can be distinguished. In A. dichotoma subsp. pillansii, the inflorescences hang from below the lowest leaves, rather than growing erect. A. dichotoma subsp. ramosissima is considerably smaller - rarely reaching more than 2 m in height - and assumes a more shrub-like shape. While there is a gradation between tree-like dichotoma and the shrubby ramosissima, the relatively unique pillansii population is separated by a different flowering time and therefore does not interbreed with the other two subspecies.
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Wikipedia