''Aloe inyangensis'' is a

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 ...

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

plant species, found only in the mountainous

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. It grows best in shady conditions but in some areas is also found in the open in heaths on mountain tops. There are two subspecies: the relatively flimsy ''A. inyangensis inyangensis'' commoner in the northern part of the range; and the sturdier ''A. inyangensis kimberleyana'' towards the southern end of its range.

Appearance

This aloe is a small herbaceous plant with stiff, succulent strap-shaped leaves that belie the humid and perennially wet conditions that it grows under. It grows in rather untidy-looking clumps up to 20–30 cm high. The leaves are thin, about 18–28 cm long and often bent forwards along the central vein. Unlike most aloe species, ''A inyangensis'' blooms throughout the year. The flowers are a very attractive crimson colour, borne on 30 cm curved stalks above the foliage.

Distribution

The plant is strictly confined to woodland and wet forest on mountain sides above 1500 m altitude from just north of

Nyanga Nyanga may mean: *Nyanga Province, of Gabon *Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo *Nyanga people, an ethnic group from Congo *Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town *Nyanga District, Zimbabwe *Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe *Nyanga, Western Cape, a township in Sou ...

southwards to Mount Rupere and Mount Ruinji near Stapleford in northern

Manicaland Manicaland is a province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 census. Making it the third most densely populated province after Harare a ...

. It grows almost up to the summit of Mount Inyangani. Another population occurs about 40 km further south on and around the Castle Beacon mountain in the Bvumba mountains. Despite its limited distribution it is relatively common in its own environment and specimens are relatively easy to spot.

References

inyangensis {{Asphodelaceae-stub