''Aloidendron barberae'', formerly ''Aloe bainesii'' and ''Aloe barberae'', also known as the tree aloe, is a species of

succulent plant 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 ...

in the genus ''

Aloidendron ''Aloidendron'' is a genus of succulent plants in the subfamily Asphodeloideae. It was split off from the much larger genus '' Aloe'' in 2013. Taxonomy Phylogenetic studies indicated that several species that were traditionally classed as m ...

''. It is native to

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

northwards to

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 ...

. In its native climes this slow-growing tree can reach up to high and in stem diameter. ''Aloidendron barberae'' is Africa's largest aloe-like plant. The tree aloe is often used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

. Its tubular flowers are rose pink (green-tipped); it flowers in winter and in its natural environment is pollinated by

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

Taxonomy

''Aloidendron barberae'' was first collected and submitted for classification by

Mary Elizabeth Barber Mary Elizabeth Barber (5 January 1818 – 4 September 1899) was a pioneering British-born amateur scientist of the nineteenth century. Without formal education, she made a name for herself in botany, ornithology and entomology. She was also ...

, who was a plant collector in the former

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

. She sent specimens of the plant and its flowers to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, where in 1874 it was named by

William Turner Thiselton-Dyer Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer (28 July 1843 – 23 December 1928) was a leading British botanist, and the third director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Life and career Thiselton-Dyer was born in Westminster, London. He was a son of ...

(1843–1928) in her honor. Subsequently, it was also found in

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

by the well known traveller, explorer and painter

Thomas Baines (John) Thomas Baines (27 November 1820 – 8 May 1875) was an English artist and explorer of British colonial southern Africa and Australia. Life and work Born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, on 27 November 1820, Baines was apprenticed to a coach ...

in 1873. He also sent a specimen to

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

, where it was named ''Aloe bainesii''. Although it was known as ''A. bainseii'' for many years, ''Aloe barberae'' was the name first given to this plant, and takes precedence according to the

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...

,Aloe barberae
by

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...

and so is the epithet used in the combination ''Aloidendron barberae''.

Distribution

The tree aloe's habitat is

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

coastal forests, kloofs (

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.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 ...

. ''Aloidendron barberae'' is widely distributed from the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

through the former

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

and

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

; and northwards to

and

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

Cultivation

''Aloidendron barberae'' forms a striking focal point in the garden, being an enormous sculptural tree with a neat crown. It is easily propagated, especially by cuttings (truncheons) which should be left to dry for a week or two before planting. It prefers well-drained soil, especially on a slope, and can tolerate some shade when small. It should not be planted in between buildings or in spots where its roots will be constrained, as its trunk and roots need to expand and spread.

Hybrids and cultivars

Several hybrid varieties have been created between this species and its relative ''

Aloidendron dichotomum ''Aloidendron dichotomum'', formerly ''Aloe dichotoma'', the quiver tree or kokerboom, is a tall, branching species of succulent plant, indigenous to Southern Africa, specifically in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, and parts of Sou ...

'' (the quiver tree) and, more rarely, with ''Aloe'' species. These all tend to be more short and compact than pure ''A. barberae''. Some of the more popular hybrids include: * 'Hercules' (''A. barberae'' × ''dichotoma''), the most common hybrid, with golden-grey trunk, and compact grey leaves. * 'Rex' (''A. barberae'' × ''dichotoma''), a fast-growing cultivar developed in

Swellendam Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them b ...

, which has a grey trunk, and more slender grey-green leaves with pink teeth. Seed parent is dichotoma. * 'Goliath' (''A. barberae'' × ''Aloe vaombe''), a very fast-growing top-heavy hybrid, with a slender trunk and an enormous head of massive rubbery dark-green leaves. * 'Nick Deinhart' (''A. barberae'' × ''

Aloe speciosa ''Aloe speciosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family. It is commonly called tilt-head aloe and is an arborescent aloe indigenous to the thicket vegetation of the southern Cape Provinces of South Africa. Description The ...

''), a new hybrid using ''A. barberae'' pollen, with glaucous blue foliage. * 'Medusa', this is often considered a cultivar, but is in fact the natural Mozambican form of ''A. barberae''.

Pictures

File:Aloe barberae.jpg, In

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Company's Garden The Company's Garden is the oldest garden in South Africa, a park and heritage site located in central Cape Town. The garden was originally created in the 1650s by the region's first European settlers and provided fertile ground to grow fresh ...

File:Aloe barberae bainesii Tree Aloe South Africa.JPG, The flowers are pink in small racemes. File:Asphodelaceae Aloe barberae.jpg,

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 ...

s are not woody trees despite their massive size. File:Aloe barberae - Cape - 2010.JPG, A young ''Aloe barberae'',

Kirstenbosch Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...

File:Aloe bainesii barberae Aloe Tree, Huntington.jpg, Grove of tree aloes, with blue ''

Agave attenuata ''Agave attenuata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, commonly known as the foxtail or lion's tail. The name swan's neck agave refers to its development of a curved inflorescence, unusual among agaves. Native to the plat ...

'',

Huntington Desert Garden The Huntington Desert Garden is part of The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The Desert Garden is one of the world's largest and oldest collections of cacti, succulents and other desert plants, c ...

References

External links

*
BBC Gardening: ''Aloe bainesii''
* {{Taxonbar, from1=Q42729497, from2=Q149345 Asphodeloideae Flora of Mozambique Flora of Southern Africa Trees of South Africa Garden plants of Southern Africa Drought-tolerant trees Ornamental trees