![]() Phyllotactic patterns generated in computer simulations. Distichous phyllotaxis (bamboo) and Fibonacci spiral phyllotaxis – spiral with a divergence angle close to the golden angle of 137.5° (the succulent spiral aloe) are common alternate forms, while decussate phyllotaxis (basil or mint) and tricussate phyllotaxis (the succulent spiral aloe) are common whorled types (Nerium oleander, sometimes known as dogbane). and the proteins that carry it throughout a plant.Īlternate phyllotaxis is a leaf arrangement with one leaf per node, whereas whorled phyllotaxis is a leaf arrangement with two or more leaves per node. ![]() Auxins play a cardinal role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in plant life cycles and are essential for plant body development. The current agreement is that such patterns are caused by the motions of the growth hormone auxin 1 Auxins are a class of plant hormones (or plant-growth regulators) with some morphogen-like characteristics. The enthralling Fibonacci sequence, for example, may be seen in anything from sunflower seed arrangements to nautilus shells to pine cones. Scientists have built models that can effectively reproduce many of nature’s typical patterns, based on the concept that existing leaves have an inhibitory influence on emerging ones, emitting a signal to prevent others from sprouting close. ![]() One important premise in the study of phyllotaxis, or leaf patterns, is that leaves guard their personal space. Phyllotaxis has common characteristics across plant species, which are commonly mathematically characterized and expressed in a small number of phyllotactic patterns. In cultivation in the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.Plant leaves are arranged in a beautiful geometric pattern around the stem, which is known as phyllotaxis. The species is listed on Appendix I of CITES meaning commercial international trade is prohibited. In South Africa, it is a criminal offence to remove plants or seed of Aloe polyphylla from their natural habitat or to buy plants from roadside vendors. The species is highly sought after as an ornamental but is difficult to cultivate and usually soon dies if removed from its natural habitat. The region also has a very high summer rainfall and this moisture is augmented by the clouds which engulf the Lesotho mountain peaks. The climate is cool in the summer and in the winter the aloes are often covered in deep snow. Here it clings to rocky crevices and well-drained scree slopes. The spiral aloe grows in high, mountainous, grassy slopes at altitudes between 2,000 and 2,599 m (6,560 and 8,530 ft), and sometimes higher on east-facing slopes. This aloe flowers at the beginning of summer, producing flowers that range in colour from red to salmon pink and occasionally yellow, at the head of robust, branched inflorescences. The fat, wide, serrated, gray-green leaves have sharp, dark leaf-tips and grow in the five spiral rows. The plants do not seem to sucker or produce offshoots, but from the germination of their seeds they can form small, dense clumps. Description Spiral formed by leaves with emerging flower bud.Īloe polyphylla is a stemless aloe and grows its leaves in a very distinctive spiral shape which may be clockwise or anti-clockwise. Taxonomically, it forms part of the Rhodacanthae series of very closely related Aloe species, together with Aloe glauca, Aloe lineata and Aloe pratensis. The species epithet polyphylla means "many-leaved" in Greek. An evergreen succulent perennial, it is well known for its strikingly symmetrical, five-pointed spiral growth habit.Īloe polyphylla is commonly known as the spiral aloe in English, kroonaalwyn in Afrikaans, or lekhala kharetsa in Sesotho. Aloe polyphylla, the spiral aloe, kroonaalwyn, lekhala kharetsa, or many-leaved aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aloe that is endemic to the Kingdom of Lesotho in the Drakensberg mountains.
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