Aloe polyphylla young leaf-tips

A close look at Aloe polyphylla youngest leaf-tips tells of a cream, almost soft and delicate initial appearance, when they have newly emerged from the central rosette hollow. Checking their rise and size as they move away from the spiral centre shows colour changing to orange, then brown and eventually black with a short, pale section above the normal leaf colour. When the leaf-tip spines are blackened, they are hard, dry and best avoided physically.

The skew keels on the outside surfaces high up on the leaves do not bear spines right to the top, and also not far down. Two to six spines is typical on one keel. These keels are never in the centre of the leaf, and sometimes there may be two on one leaf. Leaves of very old plants show less keel, to almost none.

Marginal spines also vary in number on the leaves, sometimes more prevalent on one side of a leaf than the other. And sometimes only higher up or lower down on the leaves of a plant (Pooley, et al, 2025; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Reynolds, 1974; iNaturalist; https://pza.sanbi.org).