Aloe cooperi flowers and heavy guest

The buds at the top of the Aloe cooperi raceme are erect, as are the old flowers turning into fruits below. The open flowers in the middle nod.

There is some shine on an A. cooperi perianth in its heyday. The pedicel has the flower’s colouring, the perianth tip not. Its green is fringed by pale cream along the margins.

Whether the handsome dark grasshopper will pollinate or only consume plant parts is unknown (Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Pooley, 1998; Reynolds, 1974; iNaturalist).