Gonialoe

Gonialoe (the partridge aloes) is a small genus of three succulent plant species, indigenous to South Africa, Namibia and Angola. They were formerly included within the related genus Aloe. The three species are Gonialoe variegata, Gonialoe sladeniana, Gonialoe dinteri.[1]

Gonialoe
Gonialoe variegata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Tribe: Aloeae
Genus: Gonialoe
(Baker) Boatwr. & J.C.Manning
Type species
Gonialoe variegata
(L.) Boatwr. & J.C.Manning
Species
Distribution map of the three Gonialoe species.
  G. dinteri   G. sladeniana

  G. variegata

Taxonomy

The genus Aloe was found to be polyphyletic. It was accordingly divided into different genera: Aloe, Kumara, Aloiampelos, and Gonialoe among others. Several recent phylogenetic studies have confirmed this division, and shown that Aloe actually comprises several relatively unrelated groups.

The same studies suggested that the closest relatives of this proposed genus were the related genus Astroloba and Tulista.[2]

Species

The three species of this genus can easily be recognised by their compact, triangular leaves forming three ranks (trifarious).

ImageScientific nameDistribution
Gonialoe dinteri (A.Berger) Boatwr. & J.C.Manning Namibia
Gonialoe sladeniana (Pole-Evans) Boatwr. & J.C.Manningcentral Namibia, south-west of Windhoek
Gonialoe variegata (L.) Boatwr. & J.C.ManningSouth Africa (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Free State.)

References
  1. "Gonialoe (Baker) Boatwr. & J.C.Manning | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". powo.science.kew.org. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  2. Manning, John; Boatwright, James S.; Daru, Barnabas H.; Maurin, Olivier; van der Bank, Michelle. A Molecular Phylogeny and Generic Classification of Asphodelaceae subfamily Alooideae: A Final Resolution of the Prickly Issue of Polyphyly in the Alooids? Systematic Botany, Volume 39, Number 1, March 2014, pp. 55-74
  • Media related to Gonialoe at Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related to Gonialoe at Wikispecies
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