The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Aloiampelos
Also called Climbing Aloes, Rambling Aloes
Aloiampelos (combination of 'Aloe' and 'ampelos'=vine or creeper), formerly Aloe ser. Macrifoliae (the climbing-aloes) is a genus of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae, comprising seven species found in Southern Africa. They are typically multi-branched climbing or sprawling shrubs, with long spindly stems and a large woody base on the ground. These characteristics, as well as their soft, narrow, triangular leaves whose lower part ensheathes the stem, make them easy to distinguish.
The genus is centered in the Eastern Cape, South Africa where they are also particularly common. A few rare species also occur in isolated pockets further west in the fynbos vegetation of the Western Cape.
Due to their hardiness and the wide range of flower colours, these slender succulents have become popular ornamental plants in South African gardens. The commoner species (such as the more widespread aloes of the Eastern Cape) are increasingly grown in gardens overseas too. Climbing aloes require a sunny, well-drained position and are particularly suitable for rockeries. The taller, climbing species are commonly planted along fences and boundaries where they grow up through the surrounding foliage. The lower, rambling species however, are better suited for rockeries, slopes or terraces, which they will naturally cascade down over.
The colour of the flowers varies from bright yellow (Aloiampelos commixta and Aloiampelos tenuior) to orange (Aloiampelos striatula and Aloiampelos commixta) to red, pink or even scarlet (Aloiampelos ciliaris, Aloiampelos juddii and Aloiampelos gracilis). There can also be significant colour variation among different populations within each individual species.
Aloiampelos is native to Southern Africa, being found in South Africa (the Cape Provinces, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State
Aloiampelos decumbens · Aloiampelos gracilis · Aloiampelos juddii · Aloiampelos striatula · Aloiampelos tenuior · Climbing Aloe · Peninsula Rambling Aloe
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aloiampelos by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
