Aloe aaata
Aloe aaata
Overview
Aloe aaata grows in large cracks in granite outcrops at about 2,000 m in southwestern Saudi Arabia, forming large colonies by offsetting from the base as an acaulescent, rosulate aloe. Its leaves are ascending to erect and glaucous-pruinose, and it bears bright yellow sigmoid flowers in dense, narrowly cylindrical-acuminate racemes. [1]
Classification and nomenclature
- Accepted name
- Aloe aaata T.A.McCoy & Lavranos [2]
- Protologue bibliography
- Aloe aaata was described in Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 86: 259 (2014). [2]
- Type locality and type material
- McCoy (2019) records the type as McCoy 3861, holotype FT, collected on 12 May 2012 east of Khamis Mushayt in Asir Province, Saudi Arabia, on granite outcrops at 2,000 m. [1]
Etymology
McCoy (2019) derives the epithet from ancient Greek aaatos (feminine aaata), meaning “unblemished” or “unattainable”, and relates the choice to the species’ remote habitat. [1]
Key characteristics
Growth form
Acaulescent and rosulate, offsetting from the base to form large groups. [1]
Leaves
Ascending to erect, glaucous and pruinose, 20–25 cm long and 8–12 cm wide at the base. [1]
Inflorescence and flowers
Inflorescences erect, 60–80 cm tall; racemes dense and narrowly cylindrical-acuminate. Flowers bright yellow, sigmoid, and finely hirsute with white hair. [1]
Distribution
Native to Saudi Arabia. McCoy (2019) records the species as endemic to southwestern Saudi Arabia from only a few isolated locations. [2, 1]
Habitat
Occurs in large cracks in granite outcrops at about 2,000 m. [1]
Main references
- McCoy, T. (2019). The Aloes of Arabia. McCoy Publishing, Temecula, California.
- World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP).
Updates
Classification, distribution and descriptive information are revised as new sources are verified or taxonomic treatments change.