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Scientific Name | Aloe glauca Mill. |
Higher Classification | Monocotyledons |
Family | ASPHODELACEAE |
Synonyms | Aloe glauca Mill. var. elatior Salm-Dyck, Aloe glauca Mill. var. humilior Salm-Dyck, Aloe glauca Mill. var. major Haw., Aloe glauca Mill. var. minor Haw., Aloe glauca Mill. var. muricata (Schult.) Baker, Aloe glauca Mill. var. spinosior Haw., Aloe muricata Schult., Aloe perfoliata L. var. glauca (Mill.) Aiton, Aloe perfoliata L. var. kappa L., Aloe rhodacantha DC. |
Common Names | Blou-aalwee (a), Blouaalwyn (a), Blou-Aalwyn (a) |
National Status |
Status and Criteria | Least Concern |
Assessment Date | 2018/09/30 |
Assessor(s) | H. Mtshali & L. von Staden |
Justification | Aloe glauca is a widespread species that has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of 136 958 km². It is not in danger of extinction and is therefore listed as Least Concern. |
Distribution |
Endemism | South African endemic |
Provincial distribution | Northern Cape, Western Cape |
Range | This species is endemic to South Africa, and occurs in scattered, isolated areas in the Western and Northern Cape provinces, from between Caledon and Swellendam eastwards to Laingsburg and northwards to Steinkopf. |
Habitat and Ecology |
Major system | Terrestrial |
Major habitats | Swartland Shale Renosterveld, Swellendam Silcrete Fynbos, Cederberg Sandstone Fynbos, Western Ruens Shale Renosterveld, Central Ruens Shale Renosterveld, Nieuwoudtville Shale Renosterveld, Citrusdal Shale Renosterveld, Gouritz Valley Thicket, Breede Shale Renosterveld, Western Little Karoo, Gamka Karoo, Eastern Upper Karoo, Namaqualand Shale Shrubland, Namaqualand Heuweltjieveld, Doringrivier Quartzite Karoo, Koedoesberge-Moordenaars Karoo, Roggeveld Shale Renosterveld |
Description | It occurs in variable habitats, including renosterveld, Nama karoo and Succulent karoo vegetation. It appears to prefer arid rocky hills and mountain slopes. |
Threats |
| Aloe glauca is not threatened in its natural habitat (Van Wyk and Smith 1996, 2003). |
Population |
The population is not suspected to be declining, but some subpopulations may be impacted in future if planned shale gas fracking is to go ahead.
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Population trend | Stable |
Notes |
| Due to the highly varying habitats and isolated occurrences of this species, four different variants were previously recognized (Reynolds 1969), the typical form from the Caledon-Swellendam area, the Karoo form from Laingsburg, Matjiesfontein and Sutherland, the Piketberg form and the Namaqualand form from Steinkopf and Springbok. These forms differed mainly in their leaf characters, which is quite likely the result of the local environment, but there is no difference in the floral structure. Therefore, these varieties are no longer recognized (Glen and Hardy 2000). |
Assessment History |
Taxon assessed |
Status and Criteria |
Citation/Red List version | | Aloe glauca Mill. | Least Concern | Raimondo et al. (2009) | |
Bibliography |
Glen, H.F. and Hardy, D.S. 2000. Aloaceae (First part): Aloe. In: G. Germishuizen (ed). Flora of Southern Africa 5 Part 1, Fascicle 1:1-159. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
Goldblatt, P. and Manning, J.C. 2000. Cape Plants: A conspectus of the Cape Flora of South Africa. Strelitzia 9. National Botanical Institute, Cape Town.
Klopper, R.R. and Smith, G.F. 2007. The genus Aloe (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae) in Namaqualand, South Africa. Haseltonia 13:38-51.
Raimondo, D., von Staden, L., Foden, W., Victor, J.E., Helme, N.A., Turner, R.C., Kamundi, D.A. and Manyama, P.A. 2009. Red List of South African Plants. Strelitzia 25. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria.
Reynolds, G.W. 1969. The Aloes of South Africa. A.A. Balkema, Cape Town.
Van Wyk, B.-E. and Smith, G. 1996. Guide to the aloes of South Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria.
Van Wyk, B.-E. and Smith, G. 2003. Guide to aloes of South Africa. (2nd ed.). Briza Publications, Pretoria.
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Citation |
| Mtshali, H. & von Staden, L. 2018. Aloe glauca Mill. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version . Accessed on 2025/01/17 |
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