''Aloe aldabrensis'' (the "Aldabra Aloe", previously ''Lomatophyllum aldabrensis'') is a species of ''

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 ...

'' endemic to the islands of

Aldabra Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 k ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, where it can still be found in coastal scrub on limestone-based soil.

Description

It is part of a group of aloes which bear fleshy berries, and were therefore classed as a separate group, '' Lomatophyllum''. Within this group it is most closely related to '' Aloe pembana'' and ''

Aloe alexandrei ''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 ...

'' - both also from islands in the Mozambique channel - as well as '' Aloe peyrierasii'' from the north east corner of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. These species are also more distantly related to ''

Aloe purpurea ''Aloe purpurea'' (previously ''Lomatophyllum purpureum/borbonicum/aloiflorum''. Locally known as "Mazambron" or "Socotrine du Pays") is a species of ''Aloe'' endemic to the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, where it formerly occurred o ...

'' of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, but differ by their larger leaves, longer flowers, and more widely interspaced leaf-teeth. The Aldabra aloe usually grows singly, close to the ground, with at most a short stem. Its leaves are green with red or orange tints. Its multi-branched inflorescence bears orange-red flowers in racemes, and its seeds develop in fleshy berries. ''Medicinal Plants, Volume 1'' Prota. 2008.

References

aldabrensis Endemic flora of Seychelles Endangered flora of Africa {{Asphodelaceae-stub