Aloiampelos tenuior
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.
Description
Locally, this plant is known as iKhalene in Xhosa, inTelezi in Fengu, and simply the fence aloe in English. The specific epithet tenuior means "very slender", and refers to the plant's stems.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.
Like all species in the genus, flowers are borne on slender racemes and are usually bright yellow.
Aloiampelos tenuior flowers throughout the year, but especially in winter, and the small flowers appear on thin, un-branched racemes.
Varieties
Aloiampelos tenuior is an extremely variable species. The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families does not recognize any varieties, treating them all as synonyms of the species. Varieties recognized by some sources include:A. tenuior var. tenuiorA. tenuior var. viridifolia restricted to the Suurberg Shale Fynbos, near Addo Elephant Park, north of Port Elizabeth. The smallest variety, with smooth, green leaves.A. tenuior var. glaucescens, type: Kei River, Eastern Cape. A. tenuior var. densiflora, type: Breakfast Vlei, Eastern CapeA. tenuior var. rubriflora of Pondoland, type: Mlengana, Eastern Cape. The largest variety.A. tenuior var. decidua, type: Alice, Eastern Cape. A small, erect, deciduous variety.Relatives
Aloiampelos tenuior is part of a genus including Aloiampelos ciliaris, Aloiampelos gracilis, Aloiampelos striatula, 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.