Kingdom Plantae Clade Monocots Family Asphodelaceae Rank Species | Clade Angiosperms Order Asparagales Subfamily Asphodeloideae | |
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Similar Astroloba spiralis, Astroloba, Astroloba foliolosa, Astroloba bullulata, Astroloba congesta | ||
Astroloba herrei is a small, rare succulent plant of the Astroloba genus, restricted to a small area of the Karoo, on the border between the Western and Northern Cape, South Africa.
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It is listed as a Vulnerable species on the Red List of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).
Description
Astroloba herrei is a compact Astroloba species, with stems growing up to 20cm high, that are densely covered in pointed succulent leaves. Flowers appear from June to November.
With its sharp, grey-green, keeled leaves, and its puffed up, inflated flowers, the species is easily mistaken for the closely related Astroloba spiralis species. However it is genetically distinct and can always be distinguished by its flowers. Both spiralis and herrei have puffed up, inflated flowers, but those of herrei are smooth (unlike spiralis, which has a wrinkled, transversely rugose, perianth).
Other less reliable ways of identifying herrei are the fine, dark, longitudinal lines (striations) which are sometimes visible below the surface of the leaves, and the slight blueish colour which herrei attains in sheltered or shaded environments. Leaves often feature narrowly acuminate leaf tips that spread outwards more strongly than in spiralis. However these are not certain ways of identifying it; the only sure way of distinguishing this species with certainty is by its flowers.
A variety of this plant was previously recognised as a separate species, Astroloba dodsoniana (Uitewaal). The dark longitudinal stripes of this variety of herrei are faint or even invisible, and the leaves are slightly paler. This is merely a growth form, and such plants appear interspersed at random, among normal herrei plants in all herrei populations.
Distribution
This rare species has a very small distribution, being restricted to two small populations near Uniondale in the Little Karoo, and three isolated populations near Prince Albert in the Great Karoo. Here it grows on Karoo flats, often underneath bushes which provide it with some protection from the sun.
All populations are threatened by habitat destruction and illegal collecting, and the species has been locally declared as Vulnerable.