Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

80 ALOACEAE
Aloe steudneri
(24–30 mm long) and bracts (4–6.5 mm long). The
second form was described as A. berhana by Reynolds
in 1957 from Debre Berhan area in Shewa Region. The
presence of these two forms almost side by side in some
sites and the continuous variation in these traits give
reason to treat these plants as one variable species.
23. Aloe steudneri Schweinfurth
The specific epithet ‘steudneri’ is given in honour of Dr.
Steudner, who collected the plant material on which the
description of the species was based. It was described by
Schweinfurth in 1894 based on type material collected
from the Semien Mountains in Gonder region in
northwestern Ethiopia.
A. steudneri is in a group of aloes (A. ankoberensis,
A. pulcherrima and A. steud neri, numbers 23–25) which
usually have pendent or prostrate stems, a U­shaped
peduncle and a long perianth (30–40 mm). They grow on
cliffs in high altitude mountain areas. The outer lobes of
the perianth of A. steudneri are free almost to the base,
a character which separates it from the other species of
the group. This feature is almost unique among the aloes
occuring in the region.
Fig. 39. Aloe steudneri, from the Semien Mountains, Gonder floristic region.