Aloe chabaudi

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Botanical name

Aloe chabaudi

Other names

 

Family

Asphodelaceae

Dimensions

A stemless aloe up to 80 cm in height with the inflorescence; forms clumps through suckering

Description of stem

Stemless to occasional short stems

Description of leaves

About 20 grey-green to blue-green leaves, reddish in direct sun, usually feintly longitudinally lined, sometimes confluently spotted (H-shaped) on both surfaces, especially on young plants, lower surface convex; leaves about 50 cm long and 10 cm wide at the base; cartilaginous edge and fine whitish teeth on leaf margins only; the leaf apex does not recurve as in A. globuligemma

Description of flowers

Inflorescence consists of a panicle characterised by multiple branching, sometimes slender, but often a profuse flourish of bright-red or pink-red flowers with an indentation just beyond the bulbous base of the perianth; raceme cylindric; anthers excerted

Desciption of seed/fruit

 

Description of roots

Tends to make suckers from which new rosettes appear

Variation

One of the more variable aloe species

Propagation and cultivation

Grows easily, a common garden plant and multiplies over time into clusters of rosettes

Tolerances

 

Uses

 

Ecological rarity

Not threatened

Pests and diseases

 

Other

More associated with Zimbabwe than South Africa as the central domain of the species

Location

Open grassland in various soil types, often near granite hills

Distribution (SA provinces)

Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal

Country

South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania

[Information from Reynolds, G.W. (1966) The Aloes of Tropical Africa and Madagascar. The Aloes Book Fund, Mbabane, Swaziland]


Aloe chabaudii : Photographed by Jack Latti