Aloe ciliaris
Encyclopedia
Aloe ciliaris is a thin, tough, rapidly-growing climbing Aloe
from South Africa
.
by the way that the soft, white, hair-like teeth (=ciliaris) that grow along the margins of the leaves, extend all the way around the stem, at the base of the leaf.
The fleshy leaves themselves are strongly recurved (helping to anchor the tall stems in dense thickets and assist the aloe in climbing). The leaf sheaths are conspicuously striped green and white.
These aloes grow very quickly, producing long, thin, untidy stems that shoot upwards, producing large bright orange-red flowers once they reach the sun. If there are no nearby trees to act as host and support, it just forms a straggly shrub.
. Especially in dry river valleys where they grow in thorny forests, their long stems pushing rapidly upwards and out through the thicket canopy. Their recurved leaves act as hooks, allowing the plant to anchor itself in the thick vegetation.
This climbing aloe seems to have developed from the smaller, rarer, more delicate Aloe tidmarshi (now re-classified as a subspecies, Aloe ciliaris tidmarshi) and to have spread out across the region relatively recently. The ancestral Tidmarshi subspecies remains restricted to the Albany thickets
of the Eastern Cape
, between Grahamstown
and Uitenhage
.
They grow very easily from cuttings, and they have been planted in gardens all over South Africa. This is the fastest growing of all Aloes.
that grow throughout Southern Africa. Some other species in this group are: Aloe tenuior
, Aloe gracilis
, Aloe commixta
, Aloe juddii
and Aloe striatula
.
Aloe ser. Macrifoliae
Aloe ser. Macrifoliae is a taxonomic series within the genus Aloe, comprising seven closely related species of Southern African climbing aloe. These aloes are typically multi-branched climbing or sprawling shrubs, with long spindly stems and a large woody base on the ground...
from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Appearance
They can be differentiated from other climbing aloesAloe ser. Macrifoliae
Aloe ser. Macrifoliae is a taxonomic series within the genus Aloe, comprising seven closely related species of Southern African climbing aloe. These aloes are typically multi-branched climbing or sprawling shrubs, with long spindly stems and a large woody base on the ground...
by the way that the soft, white, hair-like teeth (=ciliaris) that grow along the margins of the leaves, extend all the way around the stem, at the base of the leaf.
The fleshy leaves themselves are strongly recurved (helping to anchor the tall stems in dense thickets and assist the aloe in climbing). The leaf sheaths are conspicuously striped green and white.
These aloes grow very quickly, producing long, thin, untidy stems that shoot upwards, producing large bright orange-red flowers once they reach the sun. If there are no nearby trees to act as host and support, it just forms a straggly shrub.
Distribution
Aloe ciliaris is naturally widespread in the coastal and thicket vegetation of the Eastern CapeEastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
. Especially in dry river valleys where they grow in thorny forests, their long stems pushing rapidly upwards and out through the thicket canopy. Their recurved leaves act as hooks, allowing the plant to anchor itself in the thick vegetation.
This climbing aloe seems to have developed from the smaller, rarer, more delicate Aloe tidmarshi (now re-classified as a subspecies, Aloe ciliaris tidmarshi) and to have spread out across the region relatively recently. The ancestral Tidmarshi subspecies remains restricted to the Albany thickets
Albany thickets
The Albany thickets are an ecoregion of dense woodland near the southern point of South Africa, concentrated around the Albany region of the Eastern Cape .-Location and description:...
of the Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
, between Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
and Uitenhage
Uitenhage
Uitenhage is a South African town with 275,185 inhabitants in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. The town's name is pronounced by English speakers and in Afrikaans...
.
They grow very easily from cuttings, and they have been planted in gardens all over South Africa. This is the fastest growing of all Aloes.
Related species
Aloe ciliaris is part of a group of related climbing aloes ("Macrifoliae")Aloe ser. Macrifoliae
Aloe ser. Macrifoliae is a taxonomic series within the genus Aloe, comprising seven closely related species of Southern African climbing aloe. These aloes are typically multi-branched climbing or sprawling shrubs, with long spindly stems and a large woody base on the ground...
that grow throughout Southern Africa. Some other species in this group are: Aloe tenuior
Aloe tenuior
Aloe tenuior is a bushy, multi-branched climbing aloe from the grasslands and thickets of the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal and Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is one of the most profusely flowering of all aloes.-Description:...
, Aloe gracilis
Aloe gracilis
Aloe gracilis is a climbing aloe, endemic to the area around the city of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Its natural range lies just to the west of the related climbing aloe Aloe ciliaris, and it occurs in bushy fynbos and thickets, and clustered on rocky outcrops at all altitudes.-Appearance:Its...
, Aloe commixta
Aloe commixta
Aloe commixta or the Peninsula Rambling Aloe is a rare climbing aloe that is endemic to southwestern South Africa. It naturally occurs only on the Table Mountain range, within the city of Cape Town....
, Aloe juddii
Aloe juddii
Aloe juddii is a newly discovered climbing aloe that is native to a few rocky outcrops and a farm , near to Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape, South Africa....
and Aloe striatula
Aloe striatula
Aloe striatula is a sturdy climbing aloe that naturally occurs on the summits of mountains along the south of the Karoo region of South Africa...
.