Taxonomy
Scientific Name
Aloe suffulta Reynolds
Higher Classification
Monocotyledons
Family
ASPHODELACEAE
National Status
Status and Criteria
Data Deficient - Insufficient Information
Assessment Date
2020/01/21
Assessor(s)
H. Mtshali & L. von Staden
Justification
Aloe suffulta has a restricted range in South Africa, and is poorly known. It is possibly in danger of regional extinction, but based on current data, its risk of extinction cannot be assessed.
Distribution
Endemism
Not endemic to South Africa
Provincial distribution
KwaZulu-Natal
Range
Aloe suffulta occurs mainly on the coastal plain of northern KwaZulu-Natal and adjacent areas of similar habitat in southern Mozambique. It is known from a few, scattered records northwards through western Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe, as far as southern Malawi.
Habitat and Ecology
Major system
Terrestrial
Major habitats
Forest, Indian Ocean Coastal Belt, Savanna
Description
It occurs in sandy soils with loose humus, or on black cotton clays, but always in the shade of shrubs, with the inflorescences scrambling up through the undergrowth.
Threats
It is likely to be threatened by ongoing habitat loss and degradation due to expanding rural settlements, subsistence agriculture and overgrazing outside protected areas.
Population

This species is rare and poorly known in South Africa. There are no recent field observations, but it is possibly overlooked, as it can be inconspicuous among dense undergrowth. Field surveys are needed to better understand the size and structure of the local population. The population trend is not known. It also appears to be rare in Mozambique and Malawi.


Population trend
Unknown
Assessment History
Taxon assessed
Status and Criteria
Citation/Red List version
Aloe suffulta ReynoldsLeast Concern Raimondo et al. (2009)
Aloe suffulta ReynoldsNot Threatened Hilton-Taylor (1996)
Aloe suffulta ReynoldsRare Hall et al. (1980)
Bibliography

Hall, A.V., De Winter, M., De Winter, B. and Van Oosterhout, S.A.M. 1980. Threatened plants of southern Africa. South African National Scienctific Programmes Report 45. CSIR, Pretoria.


Hilton-Taylor, C. 1996. Red data list of southern African plants. Strelitzia 4. South African National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.


Kativu, S. 2001. Asphodelaceae. In: G.V. Pope (ed). Flora Zambesiaca 12 (Part 3):25-48. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.


Klopper, R.R., Lane, S.S., Msekandiana-Mkwapatira, G. and Smith, G.F. 2012. The genus Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae) in Malawi. Bradleya 30:65-92.


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.


Smith, G.F., Crouch, N.R. and Condy, G. 2001. Aloe suffulta. Flowering Plants of Africa 57:16-22.


Smith, G.F., Steyn, E.M.A., Victor, J.E., Crouch, N.R., Golding, J.S. and Hilton-Taylor, C. 2000. Aloaceae: The conservation status of Aloe in South Africa: an updated synopsis. Bothalia 30(2):206-211.


Van Wyk, B.-E. and Smith, G.F. 2014. Guide to the Aloes of South Africa. (Third ed.). Briza Publications, Pretoria.


Citation
Mtshali, H. & von Staden, L. 2020. Aloe suffulta Reynolds. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2020.1. Accessed on 2023/11/28

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