Aloe pretoriensis flowering in Gauteng

A tall Aloe pretoriensis inflorescence has charm in spite of being slender and lanky, or maybe because of it. Flowering when the winter grass is dry, it adds contrasting colour that isn’t missed being taller than the grass.

The five to eight branches of a typical raceme become 20 cm to 30 cm long, about 10 cm in diameter. The individual flowers or perianths are cylindrical to triangular, lacking basal constrictions. The inner three segments of the flower have green tips.

Imbricate bracts are found among the individual flowers below the pedicels. The unopened perianths at the top of a young raceme are initially covered by these bracts (Frandsen, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Reynolds, 1974; Jeppe, 1969; iNaturalist).