Aloiampelos striatula
| Aloiampelos striatula | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Tribe: | Aloeae |
| Genus: | Aloiampelos |
| Species: | A. striatula |
| Binomial name | |
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Aloiampelos striatula (Haw.) Klopper & Gideon F.Sm. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Aloiampelos striatula, formerly Aloe striatula, the hardy aloe, is a sturdy succulent plant that naturally occurs on the summits of mountains along the south of the Karoo region of South Africa. Tough and hardy, with orange-yellow flowers, it is a popular plant in gardens around the world.
Aloiampelos striatula is a robust rambling plant that can form a large shrub of up to 2 m in height. It is closely related to Cape Town's Aloiampelos commixta, but it is easily distinguished from it by the distinctive dark green stripes on the stems and leaf sheathes (its species name, striatula, means "little stripes"), and by its thin, recurved leaves (which, like its flowers, are more densely packed). The leaves of striatula are dark green and strongly recurved, with numerous small white teeth along their margins.
The flowers are reddish-orange and appear densely on tall (400mm), un-branched, cone-shaped racemes throughout the summer.
The unique Caesia variety of this species - found only around Molteno in the Eastern Cape - has lighter grey-green leaves and bright yellow flowers.
Aloiampelos striatula naturally occurs in the mountains of the Karoo region of South Africa, between the towns of Graaf-reinet and Queenstown in the Eastern Cape, extending into the Free State and Lesotho. It is very tough and hardy however and has been planted widely in gardens - in South Africa and around the world.
Although closest to the rare and unique Aloiampelos commixta of Table Mountain, Aloiampelos striatula is part of a genus, Aloiampelos, that grows throughout Southern Africa. Other species in this group are: Aloiampelos ciliaris, Aloiampelos tenuior, Aloiampelos gracilis, Aloiampelos juddii, Aloiampelos decumbens, and of course A. commixta and A. striatula itself.
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Wikipedia