''Aloidendron tongaense'', formerly ''Aloe tongaensis'', is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

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 ...

'', native to sandy tropical coastal forests 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 ...

, at the border between Mozambique and South Africa.

Description and taxonomy

It grows as a massive, branching tree, almost as tall as its larger and more widespread relative, the giant tree aloe ''

Aloidendron barberae ''Aloidendron barberae'', formerly ''Aloe bainesii'' and ''Aloe barberae'', also known as the tree aloe, is a species of succulent plant in the genus ''Aloidendron''. It is native to South Africa northwards to Mozambique. In its native climes th ...

''. It looks similar to ''A. barberae'', however its leaves are slightly more yellow, and it produces bright red flowers.Reynolds, GW 1966. The aloes of tropical Africa and Madagascar. Trustees of the Aloes of South Africa Book Fund. Mbabane, Swaziland.

References

Endangered flora of Africa Flora of Mozambique Trees of South Africa Asphodeloideae {{Asphodelaceae-stub