Aloe asperifolia
| Family: | Asphodelaceae |
| Full name: | Aloe asperifolia A.Berger |
| Location: | Hamilton range, Namib desert, ESE of Walvis Bay, south of C14 (2314BB) |
| ID status: | Fairly certain |
| Afrikaans common name(s): | Kraalaalwyn, Heksekringe |
| English common name(s): | Sandpaper aloe |
| Synonym(s): | - |
| Status: | Endemic |
| Description: | Plants in solid groups of 20-40, 150-300 mm tall. Leaves lanceolate, erect, 150-250 x 35-70 mm, greyish to almost white. Inflorescence 2- or 3-branched, oblique, 500-750 mm long; racemes sublax, cylindric; bracts deltoidacuminate, 10-15 x 3-4 mm, 3-5-nerved. Flowers scarlet, 19-28 mm long, mouth upturned; outer segments free for 6-10 mm, inner segments dorsally adnate to outer for 12-18 mm; pedicels 5-8 mm long. Anthers exserted 3-10 mm. Ovary 6-8 x 2-3 mm, deep olive-green; style exserted 3-10 mm. Fruit ± 20 x 13 mm, subglobose, pale grey-brown. Flowering time March to May Aloe asperifolia is endemic to northern Namibia and occurs on limestone and conglomerate in parts of the Namib Desert which are not only devoid of other plant life, but almost devoid of soil. Most of the moisture available to plants of this species is derived from fog. Map 49. This species is very similar to A. claviflora (no. 70). The inflorescence in this species is almost always branched, whereas in A. claviflora it very seldom branches, and the peduncle is much stouter in A. asperifolia, with much laxer racemes than in A. claviflora. The bracts of A. asperifolia are papery, not fleshy, and are much smaller than those of A. claviflora. The flowers of A. asperifolia are almost cylindric, with slightly upturned mouths, whereas those of A. claviflora are straight and clavate. In A. falcata (no. 69), which is similar in habit, the inflorescences are erect and the flowers are straight and cylindric. (from JSTOR Global Plants website / Flora of Southern Africa) |
| Link(s) |
African Plant Database
JSTOR Plant Science Kew Herbarium Catalogue BGBM Berlin-Dahlem - Virtual Herbarium Züricher Herbarien iNaturalist (Namibia / Alex Dreyer) iNaturalist (Namibia) iNaturalist (southern Africa) Flora of Zimbabwe Fleurs de notre Terre - Galerie Namibie Tree Atlas of Namibia |
| Photographer: | M Weigand |
| Date of photograph: | 21 Mar 2020 |
| Camera make: | samsung |
| Camera model: | SM-G975F |
| Lens aperture: | f/2.4 |
| Shutter speed: | 1/938 s |
| ISO speed: | 50 |
| Content last updated: | 18 Apr 2024 |
