Aloidendron pillansii (L.Guthrie) Klopper & Gideon F.sm.

Species

Angiosperms > Asparagales > Asphodelaceae > Aloidendron

Characteristics

Plant a tree up to 10 met. high (sometimes higher), 1-2 met. diam. at base, gradually narrowing upwards, dichotomously branched about the middle, with few to many branches, the branches smooth, erect or slightly divergent, about 20 cm diam., simple to dichotomously branched and rebranched. Leaves lanceolate-attenuate, densely rosulate at apices of branches, spreading to slightly falcate, 50-60 cm long, 10-12 cm broad at base, about 15 mm thick near base, smooth, without spots or lines, grey-green to brownish-green; upper surface flat near base, canaliculate upwards; lower surface convex; margins denticulate, with a white edge and crowded white 1 mm long teeth in lower half of leaf, larger (2 mm) and about 5-8 mm distant upwards. Inflorescence a branched panicle, 1-3 simultaneously, springing laterally from the axils of the lowest leaves, about 50 cm long, and bearing up to 50 racemes. Peduncle flattened at base and about 4 cm diam., severely decurved shortly above the base, branched from the middle, thence ascending, with the racemes oblique to erect. Racemes cylindric, laxly flowered, the terminal up to 15 cm long and about 30-flowered, the lateral shorter and fewer flowered, the shortest racemes 6-8 cm long and about 14-flowered, in erect racemes the flowers evenly distributed around the axis, in oblique racemes the flowers erectly sub-secund. Bracts filiform, almost hair-like, slightly broadened at base, a little shorter than their pedicels. Pedicels pale green, 10 mm long. Perianth lemon-yellow to yellow, up to 35 mm long, thick and fleshy, rounded and markedly stipitate at base, about 12 mm diam. near base and almost circular in cross-section, slightly narrowing to the throat; outer segments free for 25 mm (tube 10 mm), obscurely nerved, the apices green, sub-acute, revolute; inner segments free, narrower and slightly longer than the outer, with thin white edges and a slight keel turning green at apex, the apices more obtuse, spreading to revolute. Filaments markedly flattened, the 3 inner narrower and lengthening in advance of the 3 outer which are 3 mm broad at the middle. Anthers reddish-brown, the 3 inner and 3 outer in turn exserted 10 mm Style filiform, with the stigma at length exserted 15 mm. Ovary globose, light green, 6 mm long, 6 mm diam. Capsule 33 mm long, 25 mm diam. at the middle, markedly stipitate.
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Trees 10-12 m or more tall, sparsely branched. Leaves many per rosette, 350-600 x 100-120 mm, shallowly biconvex to shallowly channelled, grey-green to brownish green. Inflorescence lateral, pendent, with up to 50 racemes; these oblique to erect, lax to subdense; bracts filiform, 3-6 mm long. Flowers lemon-yellow to butter-yellow, 25-35 mm long; outer segments connate for 7-10 mm, inner segments free; pedicels 7-15 mm long. Anthers exserted 7-10 mm. Ovary 6-7 x 2-6 mm, pale green; style exserted 12-20 mm. Fruit 24-50 x 18-25 mm, pale buff. Seeds buff, ±14 x 7 x 2 mm, including a broad wing.
Tree aloe, 1-12 m tall. Branches robust, erect, never spreading, carrying large rosettes at terminal ends. Leaves grey-green, fairly large, up to 600 mm long, ± 100 mm wide at base, distinctly clasping branches, margins with small white teeth. Flowers in branched, recurved racemes arising from lowest leaves of rosettes, yellow, slightly swollen in middle.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
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Mature height (meter) 10.0 - 12.0
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Cultivation

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Distribution

Aloidendron pillansii world distribution map, present in Namibia and South Africa

Conservation status

Aloidendron pillansii threat status: Critically Endangered

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77125492-1
WFO ID wfo-0001335022
COL ID C4BJ
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Aloe pillansii Aloe pillansii Aloidendron pillansii Aloe dichotoma subsp. pillansii