Aloe striata

Aloe striata, commonly the coral aloe and in Afrikaans the makaalwyn (tame aloe), grows stemless and solitary or has a procumbent stem that branches forming groups of leaf rosettes, the stem covered in decaying leaves.

The species distribution is in the Western Cape from around Worcester and the Hex River Pass eastwards through the Karoo and Little Karoo to the Eastern Cape around Cradock and Graaff-Reinet.

A. komaggasensis and A. karasbergensis found in the Northern Cape and also Namibia (in the case of the latter species), used to be regarded as subspecies of A. striata. The Western and Eastern Cape plants used to be called A. striata subsp. striata but this Aloe currently has no recognised subspecies.

The habitat is rocky slopes among karoid scrub of succulent Karoo. The plants are often seen in overgrazed and exposed areas. The species is not considered threatened in habitat early in the twenty first century.

The plant has become an important item in xeriscaped gardens, flourishing in arid conditions driven by full sun (Euston-Brown and Kruger, 2023; Smith, et al, 2017; Frandsen, 2017; Van Wyk and Smith, 2003; Jeppe, 1969; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).