Aloe speciosa abundance

The youngest red buds at the tops of the Aloe speciosa racemes lose colour to greenish white before the perianths open. The black or dark brown lower down comes from exserted stamens of open flowers. People revering a red, white and black flag will favour A. speciosa. Plant it around the castle walls for the plant to bear symbolic meaning where it matters! Many others will also admire such a spectacle.

Birds and insects, not caring about flags, relate to aloe flowers in primary terms of being fed nectar and pollen. Those that don’t care for a pollen diet still serve by carrying the sticky stuff around without realising the significance of their contribution. Other living relationships of this aloe involve the creatures that parasitise the fruit capsules. Overproduction of flowers and fruits has so far kept the species future safe. The diligence resulting in happy abundance of food isn't waste in nature.

Seed dispersal is a private affair though, done for free by the wind once the papery seeds are dry.

The characteristic tilt of the leaf rosette in the wild is often to the north, facing the sun. A shrub, a succulent, a flowering plant, A. speciosa is also a tree. And this particular speciosa may be special in yet another way. There seems to be five racemes, five independent inflorescences from one rosette, delivering super-abundance to its clientele in a good year (Frandsen, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Wikipedia; https://treesa.org).