Aloe comptonii purple-tipped buds

The shallow dome of an Aloe comptonii inflorescence is formed by narrow perianths or tubular individual flowers.

Disciplined for buds, they hold their position thanks to stiff flower pedicels (stalks). A minimum of sagging is allowed in the longer, lower buds nearing the moment of tips splitting apart, flowers opening. After that open flowers let it all hang out. The beauty is much encapsulated in the overall inflorescence, fully developed, rather than in the individual perianths.

The leaves below and the individual flowers affirm the “aloeness” of the plant, while the flattish brush-like structure pretends to be a cut above the ordinary raceme (Frandsen, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; iNaturalist).