Wild's Small Chimanimani Aloe

wildii : after Professor Hiram Wild (1917-1982), former Head of the National Herbarium (SRGH), taxonomist and avid collector.

Small perennial, solitary or suckering to form small clusters of stems. Leaves 2-ranked, grass-like, linear, 15-35 cm, rather fleshy, usually brownish-green, white-spotted in the lower half; margin with minute white teeth. Inflorescence simple, erect, up to c. 50 cm tall. Raceme laxly flowered, conical-cylindric, 5-7 cm long; bracts papery, ovate-acuminate, up to 8 × 4 mm. Flowers 30-35 mm long, cylindric, somewhat narrowed towards the mouth, orange-scarlet, green-tipped

Local

Chimanimani Mountains in Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Aloe wildii is a grasslike aloe. It is native to a small area in south-east Africa and, like other succulent plants, it is resistant to drought. It bears attractive bright orange-red blossoms.