''Aloe arenicola'' (the sand aloe or Bont-Ot'korrie) is a spotted creeping aloe, indigenous to the arid west coast of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Distribution

The name ''"arenicola"'' means "inhabitant of sands" in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, as this tough aloe is naturally restricted to the sandy dune areas that run in a narrow strip along the South African west coast, from

Lamberts Bay Lambert's Bay is a small fishing town in the Western Cape province of South Africa situated north of Cape Town. It is part of the Cederberg Municipality. The coast town has been proclaimed 'the Diamond of the West Coast' because of its white bea ...

in the south, up to the

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n border in the north. This coastal strip lies within the

Namaqualand Namaqualand (khoekhoe: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoe people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into ...

, an arid winter-rainfall area. During the severest droughts, the plants get all the moisture they require from the mists that sweep up from the sea. Adapted as they are for arid, sandy, winter-rainfall desert, their roots and stems tend to rot when they are propagated in wet climates. Nonetheless, the distinctive colour and markings of this aloe have made it a popular ornamental in xeriscaping and it is widely grown for dry gardens.

Appearance

This aloe is a dark blue-green colour with narrow leaves that are covered in small white spots and rimmed with white teeth. Like most aloes, they turn a reddish colour when they are under stress from drought. The plant tends to ramble along the ground, never growing higher than about 70 cm. Orange-red flowers appear on multi-branched racemes in the mid-summer. Like many aloes, ''Aloe arenicola'' changes its growth form as it ages. Young plants produce long, slender stems with small, widely spaced leaves. Older plants develop thicker, wider rosettes, with densely packed leaves clustered around the rosette. The rest of the stem then tends to lose its leaves. File:Young Aloe arenicola in cultivation.jpg, A young plant, showing its elongated stem and widely spaced leaves. File:Namaqualand Sand Aloes - Aloe arenicola.jpg, Older plant, showing its densely formed rosettes.

Related species

The Sand Aloe is part of a group of very closely related "Creeping Aloes" ''( Mitriformes)'', including the widespread and variable ''

Aloe perfoliata ''Aloe perfoliata'', the rubble aloe or mitre aloe, is a hardy creeping aloe, found in rocky, mountainous areas throughout the Western Cape, South Africa. Naming and classification ''Aloe perfoliata'' was formerly known as ''Aloe mitriformis''. ...

'', as well as rarer species such as the unusual '' Aloe pearsonii'' and the rock-hanging '' Aloe meyeri'' and '' Aloe dabernorisana''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q149183 arenicola Flora of the Cape Provinces