Aloe spectabilis Reynolds, 1937

Klopper, Ronell R., Crouch, Neil R., Smith, Gideon F. & van Wyk, Abraham E., 2020, A synoptic review of the aloes (Asphodelaceae, Alooideae) of KwaZulu-Natal, an ecologically diverse province in eastern South Africa, PhytoKeys 142, pp. 1-88 : 1

E Aloe spectabilis Reynolds

Common names.

Natal aloe (English); natalaalwyn (Afrikaans); umhlaba (Zulu).

Description.

Solitary, arborescent plant up to 5 m high. Stem simple, rarely forked high up, erect, up to 4 m high, densely covered with persistent dried leaves. Leaves densely rosulate, suberect to spreading and eventually pendent, dull green, sometimes reddish tinged, without spots, usually with copious spines on both leaf surfaces, lanceolate-ensiform, ± 100 cm long, 12-15 cm wide at base; margin with stout, pungent, reddish to brownish teeth, 5-7 mm long, 10-20 mm apart; exudate honey-coloured. Inflorescence erect, much-branched, lower branches rebranched. Racemes cylindrical, rather truncate, ± 25 cm long, 9-10 cm wide, erect to suberect, dense. Floral bracts 4-5 mm long, 5 mm wide. Pedicels ± 3 mm long. Flowers: perianth yellow to golden-yellow, buds with slightly redder tinge, ± 32 mm long, ± 5 mm wide across ovary, enlarging above ovary, narrowing towards mouth, slightly decurved; outer segments free for ± 15 mm; stamens and style exserted 20 mm.

Flowering time.

June-August.

Habitat.

Wide variety of habitats, including rocky places and open situations in grassland and savannah on hills.

Diagnostic characters.

Aloe spectabilis differs from the other tall often single-stemmed aloes in KwaZulu-Natal ( Aloe candelabrum , Aloe marlothii , Aloe pluridens , Aloe rupestris and Aloe thraskii ) with branched inflorescences, by having large ( ± 100 × 12-15 cm), suberect to spreading, eventually pendent leaves that usually have copious spines on both surfaces and pungent, reddish to brownish marginal teeth. The inflorescence is much-branched and rebranched with erect to suberect, very dense, cylindrical, rather truncate racemes of ± 25 cm long. Flowers are golden-yellow to reddish tinged and ± 32 mm long with the inner segment tips dull to glossy deep purplish-black to black and the exserted portion of the stamens orange (not with purplish segment tips and deep purple filaments as in Aloe marlothii ).

Conservation status.

Least Concern ( Raimondo et al. 2009).

Distribution.

Occurs in a small area in west-central KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Plants on the farm Bester Schrik, Winburg, Free State, South Africa, 5 km north of the Korannaberg, are a naturalised population (blue on map; Fig. 40 ) (For more details see Klopper et al. 2010).

Figures

Figure 40. Aloe spectabilis. Photo: G. F. Smith.