Mountain Aloe

Description:

Aloe marlothii is one of the most iconic of the hundreds of aloes occurring in Africa; dense hillside populations of the tall mountain aloe, or bergaalwyn, are a familiar sight in southern Africa. This example was a two meter high plant, with orange and yellow flowers. A lot of bees, wasps and ants bugs were enjoying the nectar from the flowering parts (Picture 2, lower part of the flower stalks)

Habitat:

Wild growing. High altitude mixed woodland (prim. Acasia bushes) and grassland

Notes:

Aloe marlothii is a large plant, usually 2-4 m tall (occasionally up to 10 m), seldom branching, with a dense rosette-like crown and persistent dried leaves covering the stem. The leaves are dull green-brown, succulent, broad at the base and tapering to a sharp tip, 75-150 cm x 7.5-25 cm, with irregular brown spines on the surfaces and margins, and with the margins curled inwards. The inflorescence is a spreading, branched panicle with up to 30 racemes borne more or less horizontally. The tubular flowers vary from rich yellow to red, becoming lighter in colour on opening. They are 2-3 cm long, with pedicels of 3-5 cm long, and anthers protruding from the mouth. Aloe marlothii is one of the most frequently mentioned aloes of ethnomedicinal value. The many documented uses for this species have included the leaf exudate as a weaning aid and purgative, and leaf preparations to treat intestinal parasites. It is used in ethnoveterinary medicine to treat African horse sickness, as well as internal and external parasites in livestock.