Botanical name |
Aloe mutabilis |
Other names |
Aloe arborescens |
Family |
Asphodelaceae |
Dimensions |
A hanging or cliff-dwelling aloe; the plants often appear to be precariously suspended over steep kloofs in strikingly inaccessible spots |
Description of stem |
The branched stems may reach about 1 m in length, mostly curved or trailing to support the rosettes among the uneven rock or cliff edge situations of their normal habitat; this aloe has few branches compared to Aloe arborescens to which it is closely related (or currently officially merged into?) |
Description of leaves |
Blue-green, arranged in dense, sometimes spiralling rosettes; leaf apices often dried out due to drought or cold, with the live part near the apex often pink; soft yellow teeth occur on the leaf edges only |
Description of flowers |
Sometimes uniformly red, otherwise red buds with yellow open perianths below; the inflorescence normally consists of only one or two racemes; it flowers in winter |
Desciption of seed/fruit |
|
Description of roots |
|
Variation |
Two flower types; should now probably be taken as a variation within A. arborescens; the name 'mutabilis' denotes changeable, a feature it shares with A. arborescens |
Propagation and cultivation |
Grown from seeds or offshoots; fast growing |
Tolerances |
Frost resistant |
Uses |
Garden plant |
Ecological rarity |
Common |
Pests and diseases |
White scale, aloe rust and cancer, snout beetle; more attacked when growing in unfavourable conditions (poor drainage and sunlight) |
Other |
|
Location |
Often a 'cliff-hanger aloe', over deep ravines rivers or rock pools where the unusual positioning enhances the impact of the plant's appearance |
Distribution (SA provinces) |
Gauteng, Limpopo, North West |
Country |
South Africa |