Aloe pluridens

Aloe pluridens, commonly the Fransaalwyn (French aloe), is a single-stemmed, tree-like aloe when growing in dense bush, branched from the base or higher up when standing in the open. The typical height is around 2 m to 3 m, occasionally 5 m and rarely 6 m (SA Tree List No. 30.1).

Below the large (upper) rosette papery dry leaves persist on the upper half of the stem, the slender lower part becoming bare and smooth.

The species distribution is eastwards from Humansdorp along the coast, nearly as far as Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and inland in the Eastern Cape to Somerset East and Bedford.

The habitat is often the impenetrable Eastern Cape thicket vegetation, the rosettes and inflorescences usually seen above the surrounding bush. The plants are also found in the open. The terrain, lower than elevations of 500 m is frost-free, the rainfall from 500 mm to 750 mm. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century (Frandsen, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Reynolds, 1974; Jeppe, 1969; iNaturalist; www.redlist.sanbi.org).