Aloe pretoriensis leaf rosette

In some Aloe species, as in this rosette of Aloe pretoriensis, drying out of the leaf-tips occurs even when growing conditions are favourable.

A. pretoriensis is a joy to the sunbirds that visit the flowers for a serving of nectar from freshly opened perianths. This is the reward on offer for performing routine pollination services in a long-standing, mutually beneficial arrangement. Even when a visitor may be disappointed by an earlier visitor having taken the booty, some grains of pollen may stick to its body for a successful deposit upon the following flower, where it may be luckier (Frandsen, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Reynolds, 1974; Jeppe, 1969; iNaturalist).