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In the Gardens

Sword Aloe

Aloe arborescens

Bloom time

From October to February.

Characteristics

The slender, fleshy leaves have serrated margins. They are organized in dense rosettes with a diameter of about 50 cm (20‘‘). Several rosettes are situated on each of the short, branched trunks. Long stalks with various cone-shaped, shining red flowers emerge out of every rosette.

Site:

In the southern coastal regions the Sword Aloe is one of the most popular ornamen-tal plants lining the roadsides (up to an alti-tude of 600 m (656 yd.), although mostly on a lower level). It is often cultivated in gar-dens, parks and around special points of view. Sometimes it becomes wild in fallow land.

Interesting to know:

The Sword Aloe is native to South Africa. The remaining 200 Aloe species are also originating from Africa, Madagascar and Arabia. Although on the first sight you may observe a striking sim-ilarity with Agaves, the two genera are only dis-tant relatives. The latter’s habitat is restricted on the regions between the south of the U. S. A. and South America. Anyway, both genera were lead independently to similar adaptations and to a similar outer appearance by comparable living conditions in interim habitats between savannah and desert (thorn bush savannah).

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