Aloe ferox covering a large terrain

This scene reminds of the army of terra cotta warriors of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. Motionless guards in the veld personifying timelessness though these aloes are very much alive. In nature something isn't less alive because it stands motionless apart from imperceptibly growing.

Large stands of Aloe ferox as this one in the southern Cape still adorn the countryside. Scenes like this deserve impromptu breaks in the journey if a safe place to stop can be found. Don't let the kids run into the road and don't litter!

It is thought that A. ferox was first noticed by Europeans with botanical interest in the Swellendam district, the most westerly extreme of the plant’s distribution. The first description was published by Commelin in Leyden in 1703.

Pictures of A. ferox are found among San rock paintings and early European settlers recorded medicinal uses of the plant learnt from the Khoi. Among other uses, the juice served in treatment of open wounds, also on their domestic animals (Van Wyk and Gericke, 2007; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Coates Palgrave, 2002; Reynolds, 1974; iNaturalist).