![]() Temperature: This plant does not do well in extremely high temperatures. Use commercial soil for succulents, or make your own well-draining mix. Soil: Great drainage is essential for growing this plant because too much moisture for an extended period can cause root rot. Outdoors, the plant prefers light shade, especially during the hottest parts of the day. Rotate the pot once or twice a week to ensure all sides of the plant receive equal lighting. Light: When growing Aloe polyphylla indoors, place it near a window with plenty of bright indirect light. In cultivation, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States. The specific epithet " polyphylla (pol-ee-FIL-uh)" means "many-lived" and refers to the rosettes that may have 75 to 15 leaves. It grows in basalt rock crevices in mountainous, grassy slopes ranging from 6,560 to 8,200 feet (2,000 to 2,500 m) above sea level and sometimes higher on east-facing slopes. OriginĪloe polyphylla is native to Lesotho (Maloti Mountains) and South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal). The plants removed from their native habitat typically do not survive for more than a few years. Removing plants or seeds of Aloe polyphylla from their native habitat or buying them from roadside vendors is a criminal offense. The flower of this species is the national flower of Lesotho. ![]() The flowers appear in tight head-like racemes on inflorescences that are branched very low down and about 2 feet (60 cm) above the foliage. In spring and early summer, the mature rosette produces red to salmon pink or occasionally yellow flowers that measure up to 2.2 inches (5.5 cm) long. As they age, the tips become dark purplish-brown. The gray-green leaves are broadly triangular with margins armed with rather soft white teeth with irregular arrangement. Spiraling begins when the rosette is at least 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter or about two years old. While the rosettes do not produce offsets, the plant usually forms dense clumps from the germination of its seeds. The rosettes have 75 to 150 leaves, always in 5 rows, and can reach a diameter of 3 feet (90 cm). Scientific Nameįamily: Asphodelaceae Subfamily: Asphodeloideae Genus: Aloe DescriptionĪloe polyphylla is a beautiful succulent that forms stemless rosettes of fleshy leaves arranged in a distinctive spiral pattern that can be clockwise or counterclockwise. Aloe polyphylla has gained the Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society. However, the species was not formally described until 1934 by the South African botanist Neville Pillans. ![]() Holland on the southwestern slopes of Furumela Mountain in Lesotho. Photos by others were obtained from Wikimedia Commons.Aloe polyphylla is one of the most ornamental Aloes but is extremely difficult to grow. Spiral Fountain in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia – Photo credit: Greg O’BeirneĪll photos and images not credited otherwise were taken/created by Alice Webb. The Core education center, Eden Project, in Cornwall, U.K., was designed using Fibonacci proportions and spirals. ![]() The “eyes” of the peafowl’s feathers spiral in toward the bird in Fibonacci proportions.įibonacci numbers were used in this woven scarf to create a transition from one color to the next. The Fibonacci ratio and associated spiralĪ beautiful example of Fibonacci spirals in False Queen Anne’s Lace An example of a spiral design in the landscape is shown below (last image). A couple examples of the rectilinear usage of this ratio include Dan Kiley’s design for NationsBank Plaza in Tampa, Florida and Lawrence Halprin’s scheme of structural spaces at Riverbank Park, in Flint, Michigan. In many cases, these designs have focused on numbers and rectilinear shapes, although the spiral has also been used in artistic ways. Landscape architects sometimes incorporate Fibonacci proportions in their projects through a variety of means, such as with pavement design, scaling of spaces, and object/plant groupings. This ratio is also very pleasing to the eye, and has therefore been used in various types of design. It can be theorized that many of these patterns have evolved for efficiency: to maximize the number of leaves, seeds, etc., that are exposed to sunlight. The numerical sequence begins with 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and continues indefinitely – each number is the sum of the two previous numbers (as illustrated in the first image below). Its proportions can be seen in the spacing of joints in the human fingers, the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower, and the spiral of a nautilus shell, for example. I have been fascinated by the Fibonacci ratio, particularly since this pattern occurs so frequently in the natural world.
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