Aloe × bornmanii Gideon F.Sm. & Klopper, 2025

Aloe × bornmanii Gideon F.Sm. & Klopper , nothospec. nov. ( Figs 3 View FIGURE 3 and 5 View FIGURE 5 ).

Type:— SOUTH AFRICA. Eastern Cape province.—3224 (Graaff-Reinet): 31 km north of Jansenville along N 9, ± 4 km south of Melkrivier, southeastern Karoo, a natural habitat of A. claviflora and A. ferox , (– CA), 29 October 2024, G. F. Smith 1230 ( holotype Herb. PRU).

Parentage:— Aloe claviflora Burchell (1822: 272) × Aloe ferox Miller (1768 : species no. 22, 2 nd page headed “ALO | ALO”).

Diagnosis:—Plants of A. × bornmanii , the nothospecies with A. claviflora and A. ferox as parents, are low-growing to medium-sized, generally solitary, and their rosettes consist of erectly disposed to incurved, glaucous green leaves. Inflorescences are erectly-leaning, branched low down, with erect, broadly cylindrical racemes that hardly taper upwards. Flowers of A. × bornmanii are cigar-shaped to very slightly club-shaped, bright orange, and the perigone segments are apically conspicuously recurved. In contrast to A. × bornmanii , the stems of A. claviflora , one of its parents, creep along the ground and the rosettes are turned sideways and upwards, with the rosettes in time forming a ‘fairy ring’. Its inflorescences are borne horizontally and the flowers are club-shaped and red. On the other hand, A. ferox , the other parent of A. × bornmanii , is essentially a single-stemmed, tree aloe that carries its inflorescences erectly. Flower colour varies from red through orange to yellow and white. At the type locality of A. × bornmanii the species is orange-flowered.

Description:—Plants perennial, medium-sized, erect to leaning sideways, solitary or very slowly sprouting basally, unbranched higher up, to (0.3–)0.4(–0.5) m tall when not in flower. Stem usually absent, erect to slightly leaning when present, lower down clothed in persistent, somewhat twisted, variously curved, dry leaves. Leaves 250–400 mm long, basally 70–80 mm wide, glaucous green to dull brownish green, immaculate throughout, broadly lanceolate, turgid throughout, densely rosulate, ± erect when young, older leaves variously haphazardly horizontally spreading, somewhat recurved; adaxial surface generally smooth; abaxial surface with median keel higher up adorned with lengthwise aligned low, pungent teeth; margins reddish brown to dark chocolate brown, armed with pungent, shiny, dark brown deltoid teeth; teeth 3–4(–5) mm long, 11–15 mm apart, straight or very slightly curved towards leaf apex; leaf sap yellowish brown. Inflorescence a compact panicle, usually four-branched, one produced per flowering season, 0.5–0.6 m tall, erect to slanted sideways, branched from well below middle; branches ± slantederect, remaining so when flowers reach anthesis, central raceme the longest. Peduncle very stout, with several large, scattered, sterile bracts above point of branching of panicle; bracts 12–20 mm long, drying rapidly, dull greyish brown, deltoid to elongated-deltoid. Racemes broadly cylindrical throughout, hardly tapering upwards, 300–350(–400) mm long, ± 90–100 mm wide where flowers are at anthesis, dense-flowered throughout; buds horizontally spreading just before anthesis, flowers horizontally spreading to pendent at anthesis. Floral bracts elongated-deltoid, basally clasping the pedicel, flexed outwards higher up, narrower and more elongated than sterile bracts. Pedicels 8–11 mm long. Flowers: perianth bright orange, green-lined toward apex, dark green-tipped when in bud, uniformly bright orange when open, copiously nectariferous, 28–32 mm long, ± 5–6 mm across ovary, widening above ovary, enlarged towards the middle, somewhat abruptly tapering to mouth, ± straight, cigar-shaped; tips of segments spreading to recurved, outer segments free for 18–21 mm; stamens with filiform-flattened filaments, included and exserted part uniformly light yellow, substantially exserted for up to 30 mm; anthers orange to dark yellowish brown, drying dark brown once pollen shed; ovary 6–7 mm long, 2.5–3.0 mm in diameter, light green; style well-exserted, included and exserted parts uniformly light yellowish green; stigma small, hardly capitate, yellowish white. Fruit not recorded. Seed not recorded. Chromosome number: unknown. Chromosome numbers of parents: Aloe claviflora 2 n = 14 ( Riley & Majumdar 1979: 44) and A. ferox 2 n = 14 ( Riley & Majumdar 1979: 45).

Eponymy:— Aloe × bornmanii is named for botanical artist Hans Bornman† (?– 27 March 2024) (see Bakkes 2024 for a brief obituary) who, jointly with David S. Hardy (1931–1998), produced a work on South African Aloe that was illustrated with Bornman’s paintings of all the species then known ( Bornman & Hardy 1971). As sole author Bornman wrote at least 18 books on topics related to the Lowveld of South Africa —essentially the eastern parts of Mpumalanga —but none of these dealt exclusively with botanical matters. One of his most recent works was a treatise on the owls of southern, central, and western Africa, including a few from Madagascar and the little-known Shelley’s Eagle Owl that has a conservation status of ‘Vulnerable’ ( Bornman 2022). The latter work was illustrated by his owl paintings reproduced in black-and-white ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ).