Description
Aloiampelos tenuior, formerly Aloe tenuior, the ‘fence aloe’, is a bushy, multi-branched succulent plant from the grasslands and thickets of the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal and Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Its preferred habitat is sandy soils in open country, unlike many of its relatives that favour thicket vegetation. It is one of the most profusely flowering of all aloes and their relatives.[1]
The specific epithet tenuior means “very slender”, and refers to the plant’s stems.[2]
Common names for Aloiampelos tenuior
Locally, this plant is known as iKhalene in Xhosa, inTelezi in Fengu, and simply the ‘fence aloe’ in English.
Size and shape of Aloiampelos tenuior
A medium-sized, bushy plant that forms clumps up to 3 m tall, with leaves tufted at the ends of branches. The leaves have a distinctive greyish-green colour and the leaf margins have tiny white teeth. These leaves are a traditional remedy for tapeworm.
An unusually large, woody rootstock usually forms on the ground at the base of the plant.
Flowers of the “fence aloe”
Like all species in the genus, flowers are borne on slender racemes and are usually bright yellow (although there are red-flowered forms, sometimes called var. rubriflora).
Aloiampelos tenuior flowers throughout the year, but especially in winter, and the small flowers appear on thin, un-branched racemes.[3]
Relatives of Aloiampelos tenuior
Aloiampelos tenuior is part of a genus including Aloiampelos ciliaris (which occurs in the dry thicket from Ciskei to Baviaanskloof), Aloiampelos gracilis (which occurs to the west in dry thicket from Port Elizabeth through the Baviaanskloof), Aloiampelos striatula (found to the north on higher, rocky mountain tops), and Aloiampelos decumbens, Aloiampelos juddii and Aloiampelos commixta which occur only in isolated pockets in the coarse sandstone sands of Western Cape Fynbos.
However, Aloiampelos tenuior can be distinguished from its relatives by its thin, greyish, non-recurved leaves.[4]
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References
- Foden, W. & Potter, L. 2009. Aloe tenuior Haw. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2011.1
- “Description and Cultivation of Rambling Aloes”.
- Smith, G.F. & Van Wyk, B.-E. 2008. Aloes in Southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town. ISBN 978-1-875093-04-5.
- Reynolds, G.W. 1950. The Aloes of Southern Africa. Balkema, Cape Town.
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Aloiampelos tenuior”, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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