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

arborescent A rhizome is a concept in post-structuralism describing a nonlinear network that "connects any point to any other point". It appears in the work of French theorists Deleuze and Guattari, who used the term in their book ''A Thousand Plateaus'' to ...

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 Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

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 ''Aloe ferox'', commonly known as bitter aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. This woody aloe is indigenous to southern Africa. It is one of several ''Aloe'' species used to make bitter aloes, a purgative medication ...

'' and ''

Aloe africana ''Aloe africana'' (known as the Uitenhage Aloe) is an arborescent (tree-like) species of aloe plant, indigenous to the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Description The plant grows slowly and flowers when it is four to five years old. Flow ...

'' 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 Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...

province 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 ...

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 The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, 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 t ...

mountain in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

and in the

Kafue Gorge Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copper ...

just across the Zambezi river in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

. 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