Natural hybrid of Aloe hereroensis and A. gariepensis

This natural hybrid between two admired aloes of the northwest of South Africa and Namibia is doing well among rocks on an arid plain.

Aloe hereroensis has short, capitate inflorescences that may be yellow, orange or red. A. gariepensis has long, narrow, cylindrical inflorescences, often yellow, while some have red buds opening yellow. The blooming of the two species overlap from before midwinter to early spring.

Both species have leaf spots and only marginal teeth.

While A. gariepensis is confined to a narrow strip near the lower parts of the Gariep, A. hereroensis grows in South Africa only in the eastern part of the Northern Cape away from the sea, not in Namaqualand. In Namibia A. hereroensis is widespread, also to the north, but the two distribution ranges meet near the River (Van Wyk and Smith, 2003).