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Botanical name |
Aloe marlothii |
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Other names |
Bergaalwyn (Afrikaans); umHlaba (Zulu); Kgopha (Sotho); Aloe spectabilis |
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Family |
Asphodelaceae |
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Dimensions |
Tree aloe, 2 to 6 m in height, with a wide and imposing single rosette |
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Description of stem |
Single-stemmed upright, dry leaves persist on older plants below the rosette, but not to ground level |
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Description of leaves |
Broad, succulent leaves, up to 1,5 m long and 25 cm wide at the base, tapering; grey-green to yellow-green; covered with thorns on both surfaces and red-brown spines on the edges |
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Description of flowers |
The inflorescence is multiply branched with up to 30 outwardly slanted or horizontal racemes (the inflorescence may sometimes reach an exceptional size); flowers often orange-red, varying from red to yellow, occasionally two-toned;·flowering in winter |
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Description of seed/fruit |
Fruit a lily-seed resembling capsule |
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Description of roots |
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Variation |
The density of spines on the leaf surfaces; leaf and flower colour |
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Propagation and cultivation |
Propagates from seed without difficulty in hot summer rainfall conditions; choose well-drained, full sun sites and plant with ample compost; transplants easily, even in the case of very small plants; roots or stem base does not have to be retained upon transplanting, other than for assisting balancing the plant; withstands varying rainfall and a wide range of temperatures |
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Tolerances |
Drought and moderate cold resistant |
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Uses |
Garden plants; limited medicinal use occurs of leaf sap in treating ailments such as roundworm and tapeworm; grounded leaf-powder (or ash) has been reported to be useful as a snuff admixture; kudus have been found to browse the leaves in conditions of extreme drought in spite of the thorny defence; hybridises readily with various other aloes |
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Ecological rarity |
Not threatened |
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Pests and diseases |
Prone to infestation with white scale insects that can be treated by applying a mixture of methylated spirits and soap or aerosol insecticides |
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Other |
Aloe spectabilis from Kwazulu-Natal, with its racemes more erect, is lately regarded as part of A. marlothii |
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Location |
Grassland, bushveld, wooded and rocky hills, mountainous areas |
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Distribution (SA provinces) |
Mpumalanga, Gauteng, North West, Limpopo, Kwazulu-Natal |
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Country |
South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe |
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[Information from www.plantzafrica.com] |
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