Gonialoe borealis

Overview

Gonialoe borealis is a small stemless species from Namibe Province in southern Angola, around Moçâmedes. It suckers from the base to form small clusters; the leaves spread close to the ground and recurve toward the tips, becoming dark green to purplish with numerous fine white spots on both surfaces. The inflorescence is simple or once-branched, with lax cylindric-acuminate racemes and pendulous flowers. [1] [2]

Key characteristics

Growth form

Stemless, suckering from the base and forming small clusters. [2]

Leaves

Leaves are channelled above, spread close to the ground, and recurve toward the tips. [2]

Leaf surface

Leaves are dark green to purplish with numerous narrow fine white spots on both surfaces. [2]

Inflorescence

The inflorescence is simple or once-branched; racemes are lax and cylindric-acuminate, and the flowers are pendulous. [2]

Distribution

Angola. The protologue records the species from the vicinity of Moçâmedes in Namibe Province, southern Angola, in the northern part of the Namib Desert. [1] [2]

Habitat

It is recorded from gravelly ground among low granitic outcrops, crevices in schists near the Giraul River, and pebble-strewn alluvial hills around Bentiaba. [2]

Classification and nomenclature

Accepted name: Gonialoe borealis Bruyns [1]
Classification and nomenclature: Accepted at species rank; published in South African Journal of Botany 159: 653 (2023). [1] [2]
Type: Angola, Namibe Province, near Chapeu Armado, Bruyns 10720 (BOL, holotype; LUBA, isotype). [2]

Etymology

The epithet borealis is Latin for “northern”, referring to the species’ markedly northerly occurrence and its extension of the known range of Gonialoe by about 500 km farther north into Angola. [2]

References

World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP).
Hanáček, Klak & Bruyns (2023), South African Journal of Botany 159: 653–657. DOI