Mini-Show Succulent January 2017: Aloe

Aloe, is a genus containing about four hundred species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or “true aloe”.

The genus is native to Africa, and is common in South Africa’s Cape Province, the mountains of tropical Africa, and neighbouring areas such as Madagascar, the Arabian peninsula, and the islands off Africa.

The APG II system (Angiosperm Phylogeny Group II system)(2003) placed the genus in the family Asphodelaceae. In the past it has also been assigned to families Aloaceae and Liliaceae or lilly family. Members of the closely allied genera Gasteria, Haworthia and Kniphofia, which have a similar mode of growth, are also popularly known as aloes.

Most Aloe species have a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves. The leaves are often lance-shaped with a sharp apex and a spiny margin. Aloe flowers are tubular, frequently yellow, pink or red and are borne on densely clustered, simple or branched leafless stems.

Many species of Aloe appear to be stemless, with the rosette growing directly at ground level; other varieties may have a branched or unbranched stem from which the fleshy leaves spring. They vary in color from grey to bright-green and are sometimes striped or mottled. Some Aloes native to South Africa are arborescent.

Aloe species are frequently cultivated as ornamental plants both in gardens and in pots. Many Aloe species are highly decorative and are valued by collectors of succulents.

Submitted by: Jim Tanner

Aloe brevifolia variegata
Aloe brevifolia variegata
Aloe castilloniae
Aloe castilloniae
Aloe 'Christmas Carol'
Aloe 'Christmas Carol'
Aloe 'Jeff Karsner'
Aloe 'Jeff Karsner'
Aloe pictifolia hybrid
Aloe pictifolia hybrid
Aloe 'Yellow Torch'
Aloe 'Yellow Torch'

LATIN LOOKUP – Loquerisne Latine (Do you speak Latin)?

The meanings of latin plant names on this page – from http://davesgarden.com/guides/botanary/

  • Aloe [AL-oh]
    From the Arabic Alloeh.
  • arborescens [ar-bo-RES-senz]
    Tree-like.
  • brevifolia [brev-ee-FOH-lee-uh]
    Short leaves.
  • broomii [BROOM-ee-eye]
    Named for Dr. Robert Broom, 20th century anthropologist.
  • cameronii [kam-er-ON-ee-eye]
    Named for Kenneth L. Cameron, who discovered this species of Aloe in Nyasaland (now Malawi).
  • pictifolia [pic-tee-FOH-lee-uh]
    Painted, variegated or spotted leaves.
  • plicatilis [ply-KAY-til-iss]
    Folded or pleated.
  • polyphylla [pol-ee-FIL-uh]
    Many leaves.
  • variegata [var-ee-GAY-tuh]
    Variegated.
  • vera [VER-uh, VER-uh]
    True.
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