''Aloe excelsa'' (also known as the Zimbabwe Aloe) is an arborescent

aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...

indigenous to southern Africa.

Description

The Zimbabwe Aloe is a tall aloe, sometimes reaching tree dimensions of 5–6 metres, although 3 metres is a more common height. It is single-stemmed and all but the lowest part of the trunk is swathed in the remains of dead leaves. The leaves form a compact rosette at the top, spreading becoming recurved and up to 1 metre long. They are dark green in summer and

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

, up to 3 cm thick at the centre. Similar to some other aloe species, young plants have a great number of spines over their leaf surfaces. However, as they taller and less vulnerable to grazing, these brown-red teeth disappear and remain only on the leaf margins. This species is frequently confused with the related '' Aloe ferox'' and '' Aloe africana'' species, to the south, and they do look very similar when fully grown. However the flowers are different, with the

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s of ''Aloe excelsa'' being far shorter and slightly curved.

Distribution and habitat

The Zimbabwe aloe is named for the large number of specimens found growing around the ruins of

Great Zimbabwe Great Zimbabwe is a medieval city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe near Lake Mutirikwi and the town of Masvingo. It is thought to have been the capital of a great kingdom during the country's Late Iron Age about which little is known. Con ...

, where it has attracted much attention for its size and shape. It is found over a relatively small area of south-central Africa from the Magato mountains in Limpopo province of South Africa at its southern limit, northwards along the southern side of the central watershed of Zimbabwe and extending into hilly locations on the south side of the Zambezi river in Mozambique, with two outlying populations forming its northern limits around

Mulanje Mulanje, formerly called Mlanje, is a town in the Southern Region of Malawi, close to the border with Mozambique, to the east. It is near the Mulanje Massif. Location The town of Mulanje lies along the M-2 highway from Thyolo to the west to ...

mountain in Malawi and in the Kafue Gorge just across the Zambezi river in Zambia. Within this range, it favours localities with good drainage and moderately stable soils, such as rocky, wooded hillsides. It is restricted by too much heat in the dry season to the north and cold winds in the winter season to the south. It tolerates light frost during its resting (and flowering) season which occurs occasionally at its favoured altitudes of 800–1600 metres.

Cultivation

It has attracted the attention of gardeners and parks planners for its imposing appearance and tolerance for a wide range of conditions. In its natural habitat, it thrives best when given plenty of water during its growing season but requires a sharp dry period with cooler conditions when the impressive flowers appear.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aloe excelsa excelsa Flora of South Tropical Africa Flora of Botswana Flora of the Northern Provinces Taxa named by Alwin Berger