Aloe marlothii

Aloe marlothii, commonly the mountain aloe or Tonga mountain aloe, grows to heights from around 2 m to 4 m, rarely exceeding 6 m (SA Tree List No. 29.5). The single stem or trunk retains dead leaves, hardened and dry around it, below the rosette.

The dense leaf rosette comprises broad, dull green, grey green or yellow green leaves with spines on both surfaces and the margins, most on the lower surface. When the 50 or so leaves are fully fleshed out and become up to 1,5 m long on a sturdy stem, the size of these plants can be truly imposing.

The much-branched, spreading panicle appearing in winter may be 80 cm tall. It consists of up to 30 racemes, horizontally or obliquely angled out. Many A. marlothii flowers are orange or yellow-orange. KwaZulu-Natal plants have racemes angled up more. There is also a much-admired bicoloured form around the Barberton area. Its racemes are halfway pinkish red, the rest cream coloured. Near Utrecht there is a scarlet flowered form.

The species distribution is in the northeast of South Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal and the provinces north of the Vaal River, as well as several other countries in southern Africa.

The habitat is varied, including open bushveld, exposed rocky places, warm valleys, savanna and dunes from sea level to 1600 m. Neither of the two subspecies is considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Frandsen, 2017; Smith, et al, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Reynolds, 1974; Jeppe, 1969; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).