| Aloe plicatilis | |
|---|---|
| An Aloe plicatilis in flower. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| clade: | Angiosperms |
| clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Xanthorrhoeaceae |
| Subfamily: | Asphodeloideae |
| Genus: | Aloe |
| Species: | A. plicatilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Aloe plicatilis Mill. |
|
Aloe plicatilis, the Fan Aloe, is a species of aloe endemic to a few mountains in the Fynbos ecoregion, of the Western Cape in South Africa. [1]
The plant has a unique and striking fan-like arrangement of its leaves. It may grow as a large multistemmed shrub or, unusually for Aloe species, as a small tree. It is one of five species of tree-aloe that naturally grow in South Africa, and it is the only tree-aloe that grows in Fynbos habitats.
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This Aloe derives its common name "Fan Aloe", from the unusual fan-like arrangement of its oblong leaves. Likewise its scientific name plicatilis also means "fan-like" or "pleated". In the local Afrikaans language, Aloe plicatilis is commonly known as the Kaapse Kokerboom (= 'Cape Quivertree'), or the Waaier Aalwyn (= 'Fan Aloe').
Due to its distinctiveness from other Aloes, it is usually classed by itself in a separate taxonomic Section, within the Aloe genus, called Kumara. [2]
Aloe plicatilis can grow to a height of 3–5 metres (9.8–16 ft) tall. The trunk has corky, fire-resistant bark and the branches are forked ("dichotomous") with masses of succulent, oblong, tongue-shaped leaves arranged in 2 opposite rows in the shape of a fan.[1]. To the imaginative, the leaf-heads look a bit like a mass of grey hands, raised in the air.
The leaves are grey-green in colour, about 300 mm long and 40 mm wide, and have tiny teeth along the margins that are noticeable only on close inspection. Aloe plicatilis is one of only four species of aloe in the world which display this unusual fan-like arrangement of its leaves. Two of these species occur only in Madagascar, while the Fan Aloe and its tiny stemless sister-species Aloe haemanthifolia occupy the same small mountainous corner of the Western Cape in South Africa.
At the end of winter the plants appear to burst into flames as they suddenly produce masses of bright pink fowers. [1]
In the wild, Aloe plicatilis is confined to a tiny area in the Western Cape, between the town of Franschhoek and Elandskloof. Here it grows in well-drained, sandy, slightly acidic soil on steep, rocky, south-facing slopes. It also seems to have a very clumped distribution pattern, with seventeen different populations that are often separated from each other by over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).
Its entire habitat lies within the fynbos biome, where it is the only tree aloe. The fynbos biome consists of dense Mediterranean-type vegetation and a climate of dry hot summers and cold wet winters. Few other aloes naturally occur in this corner of South Africa, the exceptions being the Fynbos Aloe, Table Mountain's Aloe commixta, and the Fan Aloe's rare sister species Aloe haemanthifolia. [1]
The Fan Aloe is threatened by a growing international horticulture trade, in which wild specimens are illegally collected and exported. It is not an endangered species, but is on the IUCN Red List and the National Red List of South African Plants as a Least concern species, until its population status is assessed for its risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or population status. [3]
Aloe plicatilis is an attractive and interesting accent plant to have in a sunny garden. As such it is increasingly used as an ornamental plant for drought tolerant landscaping and rockeries. However it grows very slowly and consequently, outside of its natural habitat, it is often in danger of being overgrown, smothered and killed by faster growing plants in its vicinity. [1]
Fan Aloes are best propagated from cuttings (truncheons). These should be stems or branches, cut cleanly from the parent plant. After allowing the cutting to dry out (not in direct sunlight) for a week or two, plant it in well-drained soil in a reasonably sunny position - out of reach of competition from faster growing plants. It prefers soil of a medium or slightly acidic pH. [1]