Aloe davyana

Aloe davyana, previously A. greatheadii var. davyana, and A. davyana also before that, has a bewildering range of common names in the Aloe literature also, including spotted aloe and in Afrikaans bankrotaalwyn (bankrupt aloe), kleinaalwyn (small aloe) and grasaalwyn (grass aloe).

Spotted aloe denotes a class of small, ground level, spotted leaf rosette aloes. Bankrotaalwyn may recognise their large numbers in open veld that hasn't been worked for crop or yield for many seasons. Kleinaalwyn doesn't differentiate them from the majority of the world's small Aloe species and grasaalwyn places them in grassland with a large number of other aloes.

All of this may have originated from nomenclature vacillation or indecisiveness that left the species with some identity crisis. There is, for instance, in largely overlapping distribution a similar looking species, A. zebrina, that flowers in middle to late summer instead of winter, its only distinction. Currently specific distance between A. davyana and A. greatheadii has been re-established, but for how long? A. lettyae and A. parvibracteata are other lookalikes of A. davyana with small distinctions that vary between being lumped together as intraspecific and split on minutiae. Speciation thrives on geographical variation in habitat and ecological challenge over time. Genetic checks follow at their own pace and information becomes available in instalments, while grey areas keep committees busy. 

The species distribution is from the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal northwards to all the provinces north of the Vaal River and some neighbouring countries.

The habitat is rocky outcrops in open grassland and bushveld. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century. The plants are much noticed in dry, highveld, winter grass when thousands of these flowers wave about among the grass seeds. They are also often found in large groups in poorly managed, overgrazed veld. Pollination is done by bees, other insects and birds. The seed is dispersed by wind. 

The leaf sap is used to treat burns and wounds (Smith, et al, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Jeppe, 1969; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).