South African National Biodiversity Institute, Compton Herbarium, Cape Town (SAM)
Collection
Flora of Southern Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of South Africa, (2003) Author: Dr J.P. Roux
Names
Aloe micracantha [family ALOACEAE]
Information
Stemless grass aloe 350-500 mm tall, solitary; roots fusiform. Leaves 12-18 in a rosette, lorate, 300-500 x 20-40 mm, acuminate, with irregular white spots on both surfaces throughÂout or only near expanded bases, margins cartiÂlaginous, dentate. Inflorescence a capitate raceme; peduncle 250-500 mm long, with sterile bracts; bracts ovate-acuminate, 22-27 x 5-7 mm, many-nerved. Flowers salmon-pink, 26-38 mm long; all segments free; pedicels 20-35 mm long, lengthening to ± 50 mm in fruit. Anthers not or hardly exserted. Ovary ±8x3 mm, salmon-pink; style exserted 1-2 mm. Fruit ± 28 x 12 mm, grey. Seeds black, in a semitranspar-ent white membranous sac forming wings, ± 6.0-7.0 x 4.0 x 1.5 mm including wing. Flowering time December to January.
Habitat
Characters that distinguish this species from all others in the section include the copious spots on both sides of the leaves, extending almost to the leaf tips; the flowers, pedicels and bracts which are all the same colour; and the distribution range, which is the southwestern-most in the group. The plant figured under this name in The Flowering Plants of South Africa 3: t. Ill (1923) is not this species but rather A. ecklonis (no. 19).
Found in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. This species occurs in well-drained, dry, sandy or stony places, often wedged between rocks. It is very difficult to maintain in cultivaÂtion. Map 14.
