Aloe erinacea

Aloe erinacea (locally known as the "Goree") is a rare species of succulent plant in the genus Aloe, from arid areas of Namibia.

Aloe erinacea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Genus: Aloe
Species:
A. erinacea
Binomial name
Aloe erinacea
D.S.Hardy
Synonyms

Aloe melanacantha var. erinacea (D.S.Hardy) G.D.Rowley

Distribution

It is endemic to Namibia. Its natural habitats are high mountain slopes in dry shrubland and rocky areas.

It naturally occurred over a very wide range, but this area is now highly fragmented due to is habitat loss, with different subpopulations being widely separated from each other. The species is also severely threatened by illegal collecting for the plant trade.[1]

Taxonomy
Aloe erinacea

This plant is sometimes classified as a subspecies or variety of the more common Aloe melanacantha, which occurs just to the south of the Namibian border, in the Namaqualand of South Africa. However Aloe erinacea is also considered by many authorities to be simply a closely related sister species of its more common relative to the south, with the two forming a continuum.

Superficially, Aloe erinacea looks almost identical to Aloe melanacantha, however it is slightly smaller and it sometimes grows into dense clumps due to offsetting. [2]

References
  1. Loots, S. 2004. Aloe erinacea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Downloaded 20 August 2007.
  2. PlantZAfrica.com SANBI - PlantZAfrica.com information page - Aloe melanacantha var. erinacea


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