Aloe compressa Photo by: © Plantemania
Origin and Habitat: Aloe compressaSN|35393]]SN|35393]] is found only on the left bank of the Mania River, in the Tananarive province, Madagascar.
Altitude range: Between 1000 and 1500 metres above sea level.
Habitat and ecology: Quartzite rocks.
Synonyms:
See all synonyms of Aloe compressa
Description: Aloe compressaSN|15240]]SN|35393]] is a small solitary species, without suckers, and stemless or very short-stemmed The 15-20 leaves are distichous (placed in a double row lying over each other and forming a flattened 'fan'), grey or blue green 12-15 cm long, 5 cm broad. This small aloe was first described in 1926 and is much in demand, for it is one of the very few species with two-ranked leaves, as in Aloe plicatilis and Aloe suprafoliataSN|35393]]SN|15240]]. The tall, unbranched inflorescence has small; white flowers.
Derivation of specific name: The specific epithet compressa comes from Latin, meaning 'pressed' and refers to the laterally compressed (two-line) leaf arrangement.
Stem: None or very short
Leaves: 5-20 opposite, triangular, arranged in two lines, subercct to spreading, each 12-15(-37) cm long, 5 cm broad, 5-6 mm. thick, gradually narrowing to a rounded apex, smooth, glaucous. Margin toothed, teeth flattened up to 2 mm long, green orten with a red tip and 4-5mm apart, closely set near base, wider apart upwards.
Inflorescence: 60-70 cm tall, simple (or with one branch) with 40-60 flowers clustered at the tip. Stem very long with 15-20 white, triangular-acute, bracts. Raceme dense, almost oval, (7-8 long and 6 cm in diameter). Bracts white, 20-24 mm long, 10-17mm broad. Pedicels 1-2 mm long.
Flowers: Perianth white (or pink), 25-33 mm long straight, nearly triangular. Segments free, white with 3 brown veins, the outer ones merging into a tube in their lower half and recurved and rolled backwards above; the inner touching right up to the top in an arcuate tube. The stamens and the stylus do not protrude from the flower.
Subspecies, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Aloe compressa group
Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Raewyn Adams, “Aloes A to Z”, Lulu.com, 2015
2) Gilbert Westacott Reynolds, “The Aloes of Tropical Africa and Madagascar”, Aloes Book Fund, 1966
3) Susan Carter, John J. Lavranos, Leonard E. Newton, Colin C. Walker, “Aloes. The definitive guide”. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2011
4) Leonard Eric Newton: Aloe compressa. In: Urs Eggli “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Monocotyledons” Springer Science & Business Media, 6 December 2012
5) Urs Eggli, Leonard E. Newton, “Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names”. Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg 2010
6) John J. Lavranos, “Neues aus der Gattung Aloe in Madagaskar: A. compressa var. paucituberculata var. nov., A. cyrtophylla spec. nov., A. berevoana spec. nov., A. megalocarpa spec. nov.” In: Kakteen und andere Sukkulenten. 49(7): 158–159, 1998
7) H. Perrier: “Les Lomatophyllum et les Aloë de Madagascar”. In: Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Normandie. Botanique. 1(1): 33-34, 1926.
8) Jean-Bernard Castillon: “The Aloe of Madagascar”, 2010
Cultivation and Propagation: In cultivation, sandy soil with average water in warm weather but dry in winter. Away from full sun.
Aloe compressa H.Perrier
