Aloiampelos
| Aloiampelos | |
|---|---|
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| Aloiampelos tenuior | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Tribe: | Aloeae |
| Genus: |
Aloiampelos Klopper & Gideon F.Sm. |
| Species | |
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Aloiampelos, formerly Aloe ser. Macrifoliae (the climbing-aloes) is a genus of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae, comprising seven species found in Southern Africa. They are typically multi-branched climbing or sprawling shrubs, with long spindly stems and a large woody base on the ground. These characteristics, as well as their soft, narrow, triangular leaves whose lower part ensheathes the stem, make them easy to distinguish.
The genus is centered in the Eastern Cape, South Africa where they are also particularly common. A few rare species also occur in isolated pockets further west in the fynbos vegetation of the Western Cape.
As of October 2017[update], the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognized the following species:
The most common species in this group is probably Aloiampelos ciliaris which is relatively widespread in South Africa. It seems to have developed from a smaller, rarer, finely leaved plant now classified as a subspecies, Aloiampelos ciliaris subsp. tidmarshi, and to have spread out across the country relatively recently.
Its relatives, moving westwards along the South African coast, are: Aloiampelos tenuior of Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, Aloiampelos striatula of the higher mountain ranges bordering the Karoo, and Aloiampelos gracilis of the area around Port Elizabeth (where the Eastern Cape thickets fade into the Western Cape fynbos vegetation).
Further west, the Fynbos vegetation of the neighbouring Western Cape is subject to frequent fires, making it relatively inhospitable for Aloes. Nevertheless, several rare relict Aloiampelos species survive in tiny isolated pockets within the Fynbos biome, such as Aloiampelos decumbens, Aloiampelos juddii and Aloiampelos commixta.
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Wikipedia