Abstract
A chemotaxonomic and cladistic study of Aloe series Asperifoliae and related species is presented. The leaf exudate of most species included in, or pertaining to series Asperifoliae have littoration, deacetyllittoraloin and 10-hydroxyaloin B. Aloe viridiflora is misplaced in series Aserpifoliae, as the chemical composition of the exudate and morphological characters are remarkably different from all other members of the group, but similar to the more distantly related A. herroensis (both have homonataloin as major anthrone). Aloe littoralis is a logical outgroup for the series Asperifoliae because it is chemically identical to most members of the group. A cladistic analysis, based on chemical and morphological data, is presented, together with an interpretation of distribution patterns. Our results give a new perspective on natural relationships and are consistent with the hypothesis that the Asperifoliae is an extremely xerophytic southern clade of tropical origin, with A. littoralis as the basal species.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 159-168 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Kew Bulletin |
Volume | 51 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1996 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Plant Science