Aloe longistyla clustered at Calitzdorp

Aloe longistyla, the Karoo aloe, also grows in the Little Karoo. Droughts that are common here cause heightened incurving of the leaves. The stress related effects are sometimes heightened by red discoloration of leaf parts. The photo was taken near Calitzdorp.

The bluish grey leaf rosettes have prominent spines, particularly along the margins. If the powdery bloom is rubbed from a leaf surface, it appears deep green and longitudinal lines become visible.

This plant resembles A. brevifolia that has smaller flowers and broader, shorter leaves, not curving up like these and not conspicuously spined. A. humilis has fairly similar leaves to these, but the flowers are smaller and the inflorescences differently shaped.

A. longistyla copes with heat, cold and drought, but as with all living things, there are limits to capacity (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Reynolds, 1974; Jeppe, 1969; iNaturalist).