Notes on the taxonomy, iconography, and ecology of Aloe pluridens Haw. (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae), an endemic species from southeastern South Africa

The history of the discovery of Aloe pluridens Haw. (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae) by the Kew collector James Bowie in 1822-23 in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and its subsequent description in 1824 is discussed. The surprising dearth of published illustrations of this long-known species is emphasised and the first known photograph dating from only 1900 is reproduced. It is also shown that a painting at Kew by George Bond that dates from 1829 does not qualify as having been associated with the species by the author of the name, Adrian Hardy Haworth and cannot supersede the specimen on which the name A. pluridens was previously effectively neo-typified. The name A. pluridens Haw. var. beckeri Schonland is lectotypified and it is shown that the name Aloe atherstonei does not have a type as it was previously typified on an apparently non-existent specimen. Additionally the species is illustrated both in habitat and in cultivation. Observations on the ecology and cultivation of the species are also included.