Aloe huntleyana Van Jaarsv. & Swanepoel is named from the Kaokoveld. It belongs to a group of five closely related species from southern Angola, but immediately distinguished by its leaves which remain persistent along the stems, its horizontally spreading to drooping inflorescence of relatively short subdense racemes, of which the flowers are subsecundly arranged. The flowers when fully open are spreading nutant and not pendent.

Zusammenfassung: Aloe huntleyana Van Jaarsv. & Swanepoel wird als neues Taxon aus dem Kaokoveld beschrieben. Sie gehört in eine Gruppe von fünf nahe miteinander verwandten Arten aus dem südlichen Angola, unterscheidet sich aber auf den ersten Blick durch die Blätter, die entlang dem Stamm ausdauernd sind, sowie durch die horizontal ausgebreiteten bis überhängenden Blütenstände mit relativ kurzen, eher dichten Rispen mit annähernd einseitswendig angeordneten Blüten. Bei voller Öffnung sind die Blüten ausgebreitet-nickend, nicht hängend.

An appreciation is provided of Charles Louis Craib's (21^st May 1954 – 19^th March 2012) contributions to our knowledge of the southern African succulent and bulb floras, particularly aloes, pelargoniums and bushman candles.

Zusammenfassung: Die von Charles Louis Craib (21. May 1954 – 19. März 2012) verfassten Beiträge zu unseren Kenntnissen über die Sukkulenten- und Zwiebelpflanzenflora, insbesondere zu Arten von Aloe, Pelargonium und Buschmanns Kerzen, des südlichen Afrikas werden gewürdigt.

Although morphologically variable and widely distributed in southern Africa, Aloe maculata All. is well defined by a suite of characters that includes maculate (spotted) leaves, flattopped inflorescences and uniformly coloured flowers. Being a predominantly mild-climate species, it rarely ventures into the more severe southern African interior escarpment, where one of its variants, var. ficksburgensis Reynolds — to date only validly published in combination with the name Aloe saponaria (Aiton) Haw. — occur. We here make the new combination at subspecific level, A. maculata subsp. ficksburgensis (Reynolds) Gideon F.Sm. & Figueiredo, and record its occurrence near Winburg in central South Africa, about 80 km west of previously known records.

The widely distributed agave snout weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, is for the first time recorded from Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm-Dyck subsp. salmiana in South Africa. In its native habitat in Mexico, this new host plant species is one of the most important sources of pulque, a fermented alcoholic beverage. With efforts underway at Bothaville in the Free State Province, South Africa, to establish an agave nectar industry, commercial farmers should be made aware of the destruction that the agave weevil can cause, especially in concentrated populations and plantations of Agave L. species.

The taxonomic history and application of the long-confused name Aloe commutata Tod. is reviewed and clarified. The name had previously been variously included in the synonymy of Aloe macrocarpa Tod., A. maculata All. and A. grandidentata Salm-Dyck. We agree with Reynolds (1950) that it shows characters that are intermediate between the latter two species and is likely a hybrid between them. Given the distinct horticultural value of this hybrid, the name is here resurrected as Aloe ×commutata Tod. We also show that Engler never published a later homonym, Aloe commutata Engl.; his misapplied use of the name in a specific sense [A. commutata sensu auct. Engler (1892)], however, became entrenched in the literature.

Zusammenfassung: Die taxonomische Geschichte und Anwendung des lange fehlinterpretierten Namens Aloe commutata Tod. wird analysiert und geklärt. Der Name wurde früher unteschiedlich als Synonym von Aloe macrocarpa Tod., A. maculata All. und A. grandidentata Salm-Dyck betrachtet. Wir stimmen mit Reynolds (1950) überein, dass das Taxon Merkmale zeigt, die zwischen den zwei letztgenannten Arten stehen, und dass es sich wahrscheinlich um die entsprechende Hybride handelt. Unter Berücksichtigung des klaren gärtnerischen Potentials dieser Hybride wird der Name hier als Aloe ×commutata Tod. wieder aufgenommen. Wir zeigen zudem, dass Engler nie ein späteres Homonym Aloe commutata Engl. publizierte, aber seine fälschliche Anwendung des Namens [A. commutata sensu auct. Engler (1892)] auf Artebene hat sich tief in die Literatur eingegraben.

The confusion of names and species boundaries in and between the genera Acrodon and Brianhuntleya, resembling a Gordion knot, is analysed on the base of new collections, images from habitat and cultivation, and many new investigations into the character sets of most features. The genera are newly delimited against each other mainly based on characters of fruit morphology and features of the leaves. The species are attributed accordingly and differences between them have been found in flowers and growth forms.

Opuntia tomentosa Salm-Dyck is recorded as having become naturalised in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A description and illustrations of the species in South Africa are provided, along with a discussion of the characters that distinguish it from Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., the only other tree-like opuntia that has become naturalised in the country.

Malawi is a landlocked country situated in the eastern section of South Tropical Africa. This relatively small country has a rich mosaic of habitats owing to the varied topography, altitudinal ranges and rainfall found in different areas. Malawi harbours at least 21 different aloes, three of which are endemic to the country. Aloes in Malawi are severely threatened by habitat destruction and many species are in dire need of conservation. A key to the aloes of Malawi is provided, as well as a description, illustration, distribution map and information on habitat, flowering time, and conservation status for each of the species.

The application of the names Cactus icosagonus Kunth and Cactus humboldtii Kunth is discussed with reference to their historical treatment compared with the various forms of these taxa seen in habitat today. Plants were found in Ecuador which closely match the description of Akersia roseiflora Buining, suggesting that its original type locality in southern Peru was incorrectly stated. The division of Borzicactus icosagonus into three subspecies is proposed and an epitype for one of them is designated.

The caulescent Sansevieria bagamoyensis (Asparagaceae) is shown to be distinct from S. arborescens, with longer and narrower leaves, and a larger inflorescence. A neotype for S. arborescens is designated, superseding an earlier erroneous typification.

Furcraea tuberosa (Mill.) W.T.Aiton (Agavaceae) is recorded as having become naturalised in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. A description and illustrations of the species in South Africa are provided, and it is compared with F. hexapetala (Jacq.) Urb., with which it can be confused taxonomically. A key based on vegetative characters to distinguish among F. tuberosa, F. foetida (L.) Haw. and F. selloa K.Koch, the latter two being commonly grown or naturalised in South Africa, is included.

The semi-arid zone of Querétaro and Hidalgo, in Central Mexico, is an important region for cactus conservation. Mammillaria herrerae Werderm. is a species of local distribution with a threatened conservation status, partly because it has been historically plundered. An exhaustive census of all individuals was made to assess the current status of the species. As a result of the study, a new site is included, which increases the distributional range, and we found that M. herrerae faces adverse factors for its survival, namely: a very small number of wild individuals fragmented into small scattered groups; an extremely reduced area of distribution, and a very specific set of habitat requirements. A clear association of the species with its vegetative and rocky nurses was observed. These characteristics confirm the vulnerability of M. herrerae and suggest its dependence on a specific environment and ultimately the need for protection in its areas of distribution.

Taxonomic concepts in the morphologically variable Aloe arborescens Mill. are discussed. Previous approaches to the taxonomy of this species varied from describing aberrant material as new entities, using formal taxonomic categories, to selecting forms with horticulturally desirable characters and naming these as cultivare. We propose that in the case of this species, the preferred approach to recognise variation among entities in horticulture should be at the level of cultivars, rather than formal taxonomic entities at infraspecific ranks. It is only after extensive fieldwork throughout the complete distribution range of this species and intensive research, including all possible forms of data (morphological, anatomical, chemical, molecular, etc.), that any formal distinctions at infraspecific level can be made.

The article presents the results of a study of five selected taxa of Escobaria (E. missouriensis s.s., E. missouriensis subsp. navajoensis, E. abdita, E. hesteri s.s. and E. minima): the micromorphology of spine surface, the anatomy of their spines in cross section and are discussed as well as macromorphological features. Of the five taxa, E. abdita stands out with its four-layered spine structure in cross section. The spines of the other species show a two-layered structure. The surface structure shows trichomes only in E. missouriensis s.l., whereas these are lacking in E. abdita and other species. The spine anatomy of this genus had not been investigated before. The observations combined with macromorphological features were used for the taxonomic delimitation of the newly described species E. abdita from the group of similar and probably related Escobaria taxa.

Vivipary is a relatively unusual trait in the angiosperms, documented in nearly 195 species of 78 vascular plant families, including 53 cactus species. In this paper we report the occurrence of vivipary in four Cuban cactus species (Leptocereus arboreus, L. scopulophilus, Harrisia eriophora and Selenicereus grandiflorus). For L. scopulophilus, we determined the frequency of vivipary and compared fruit traits in viviparous and non-viviparous fruits. We found that 18.9% of L. scopulophilus individuals had viviparous fruits. None of the fruit traits compared between viviparous and non-viviparous fruits differed significantly, although the pericarp is slightly thicker in viviparous fruits.

A significant extension to the range of Melocactus violaceus is noted, together with other recent unpublished reports. Possible explanations for its patchy distribution along the coast and concerns about its conservation are offered, together with photographs of the new population.

A new restricted range species of maculate Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae: Alooideae), A. braamvanwykii Gideon F.Sm. & Figueiredo is described from near Wolmaransstad in the North-West Province of South Africa. The species is related to five other summer-flowering maculate aloes in the A. zebrina-complex: A. ammophila Reynolds, A. komatiensis Reynolds, A. lettyae Reynolds, A. transvaalensis Kuntze (probably its nearest relative) and A. vandermerwei Reynolds, but differs from these five species in several aspects. Aloe ammophila, A. komatiensis, A. transvaalensis and A. vandermerwei have previously been included in the synonymy of A. zebrina Baker, and are here reinstated. Aloe braamvanwykii is adapted to the climatic extremes of the country's central north-western grasslands where it is subject to very low winter and high summer temperatures.

Aloe condyae is described as a new species endemic to the upper sandstone cliffs of the Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa. It belongs to section Leptoaloe A. Berger, and is related to Aloe nubigena Groenewald, from which it is distinguished by its ascending to ascendingspreading stems and dense leaf rosettes with distinctly denticulate leaf margins.

Aloe mocamedensis is described as a new species from the Namib Desert in southwestern Angola. It is allied to A. kaokoensis, but differs from A. kaokoensis by its smaller size and in forming small clusters of up to six plants, and in its juvenile leaves which are not spotted and remain distichous for a few years.

Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm-Dyck subsp. salmiana var. salmiana, the typical variety of this large-growing Mexican species, is here recorded as having become established in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. A description and key that can be used to distinguish it from A. americana L. subsp. americana var. americana and A. americana subsp. americana var. expansa (Jacobi) Gentry, both of which are large-growing and more widely naturalised in southern Africa, are provided. A comprehensive chronological synonymy summarises the complex nomenclatural and taxonomic histories of the species.

In the present paper, the latest, very broad generic concept of the genus Mesembryanthemum L., incorporating all hitherto recognized genera of the subfamily Mesembryanthemoideae Ihlenf., Schwantes & Straka on the basis of molecular and morphological data, is critically discussed. New insights into the possible evolution of character states within the Mesembryanthemoideae based on the published data are outlined. On the basis of a new assessment of the known character states, it is proposed to return to narrower generic boundaries. A new genus, Volkeranthus Gerbaulet, with two species, is described. All accepted genera and species are listed, some of them as new combinations.