An introduction to Aloe Flowers, part 2 of 5: Aloes D-L

By Geoff Stein (palmbob) November 20, 2007

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In part one, we discussed some of the nomenclature used to describe aloe flowers, so you may need to refer to that article if there are unknown terms in this one. This article is really just a contination of the last article and an introduction to some, but certainly not anywhere near all, of the aloes that one can see flowering in cultivation, at least here in the southwestern US.

The following photos are of aloes with cultivational or species names that start with the lettes 'D' through the letter 'L'. For more aloe flowers, please see the other 3 articles on this subject

This is a beautiful hybrid aloe called Aloe David Verity (after it's hybridizer, I think)- most likely an Aloe arborescens hybrid as the plant looks very similar

David Verity hybrids are common, this being one with Aloe marlothii

this Aloe David Verity x marlothii makes incredibly colorful flowers in winter

Aloe dawei is another orange-flowering species with multiple, branching inflorescences and symmetrically arranged, open columnar racemes that resemble ladders in silohuette

close up at night of Aloe dawei flower

Though the sign says Aloe behrana, that is a synonym of Aloe debrana, one of the more brilliantly colorful non-South African aloes in terms of its flowers.

close up of Aloe debrana racemes before the flowers actaully open up (mid winter)

Now flowers are further along

this is a flower of a 'species' called Aloe decaryi... which is not officially a species since it is so variable... probably a hybrid. But a prolific flowerer... and plant is wonderfully turquoise as well

Aloe deltoideodonta is a very popular aloe with growers since it so easily hybridizes... sadly it does not have one of the more beautiful flowers

This little delicate flower belongs to a hybrid of Aloe descoingsii, another popular aloe used in hybridization and possibly the smallest of all aloes

a mature Aloe dichotoma in full flower is a fantastic sight as the tree itself is so impressive

It is hard to appreciate the beauty of these flowers except in smaller trees, or by telephoto as the flowers are usually hidden partially within the leaves

Aloe dinteri, the Namibian Partridge Aloe, has a huge inflorescence compared to the size of the plant itself, but it is also delicately flowered with numerous, very open pale pink racemes, throughout summer and fall

Aloe dioli is another example of a species not from South Africa with pleasant but not amazing flowers... but a prolific flowerer nonetheless

The aloes from Madagascar are some of the most beautiful in the world, and some have incredible flowers, too. This is Aloe divariacata in winter

The flowers themselves are not to impressive, existing in very open racemes.. but the inflorescences are highly branched, and the plant is a branching one, so there is a massive number of flowers in winter

this is one of the few aloes whose flower pretty matches the leaf color- Aloe dorothea- though leaf color can turn bright green depending on conditions

Aloe dyeri is a spotted aloe from South Africa with a large inflorescence of pink flowers

Aloe elegans is a pleasant, stemless aloe with few differentiating characteristics, but produces these wonderful flowers in late winter

Aloe ellenbeckii flowers are very short-lived structures but nicely colored surprises for such a ground-cover-like aloe

it is unlikely most readers will get to see one of these in person as it is the flower of Aloe eminens, a very rare but massive tree aloe from Somalia

probably one of the most striking of all the flowering tree aloes is Aloe excelsa. This plant kinly dropped its inflorescence to eye level so it could be photographed more closely

this is a shot of a the more normal presentation of this species in winter. See also the top photo in this article as that is also an Aloe excelsa

Aloe excelsas can sometimes have orange or even yellow flowers. Here are three orange flowering trees in February, southern California

Here is a particularly old and majestic Aloe excelsa in winter

this fantastically colored hybrid is Aloe excelsa and something unknown- the flowers are almost a flourescent orange

Probably one of the most commonly grown tree aloes is Aloe ferox, and it certainly has some amazing flowers in winter

Aloe candelabrum is a synonym for Aloe ferox and this gentleman is showing the size of these tree aloes labeled as Aloe candelabrum in Los Angeles

This is a close up of some variation of Aloe ferox with bicolored flowers. Aloe ferox is one of the most commonly hybridized tree aloes, either intentionally, or accidentally

another wonderful color variation of this species

this striking individual is a hybrid Aloe ferox (called 'open hybrid', meaning with what other aloe?- who knows!)

another fantastic hybrid Aloe ferox

this hybrid is at least known: Aloe ferox x spicata. The flowers are most definitely spicata-like- unbranching tall compact narrow racemes

Aloe flexifolia has brilliantly red flowers but not in winter as with most of the above species, but in summer to early fall

though not normally grown for its pale to deep pink flowers, this bizarre, sometimes nearly black plant at least flowers much of the year while most other aloes do not (Aloe fleurentiniorum)

Aloe fosteri is probably the most amazingly decorated, in terms of flower color, of all the South African spotted aloes, a group which usually sports dull pinkish flowers.

close-up of Aloe fosteri flower in winter, showing the remarkable colors

this raceme is nearly spent near the end of the season for blooming of this species

Aloe framesii is a relatively rarely grown South African speckled aloe, but its flowers are quite attractive

The shrot racemes of Aloe glauca open and detriorate from bottom to top, making them somewhat less than beautiful

Still, the flowers are a nice contrast to the particularly turquoise color of this plant

this is one of the more peculiar aloe flowers belonging to Aloe globuligemma

The racemes are one sided, on a uniformly branching inflorescence

Peculiar or not, the flowers are still attractive. The plant is nice, too, being a gracefully urn-shaped blue green stemless aloe

Aloe grandidentata is another South African spotted aloe that is quite difficult to tell apart from other spotted aloes, but the flowers are shorter and deep pink

So many spotted South African aloes look alike, and many of their flowers do, too... This is one of the many forms of Aloe greatheadii... just a tad redder than Aloe greenii

and Aloe greenii is not all that unique looking either (another spotted South African aloe), but the inflorescences are large and a nice pink color

Of course, flowers are often how certain aloes are differentiated. This aloe, Aloe harlana, is a relatively rare aloe from central Africa, but is one of about 5 very similar looking shiny-leaved striped/spotted aloes

However its flowers are uniqued deep purplish red (some forms are orange) and sort of lantern-shaped (orange forms more traditionally conical)

None of the other stiped/spotted aloes have flowers like this, and many aloes that look like this are incorrectly identified as this species, but have pale pink flowers

this is also Aloe harlana, despite the flowers looking substantially different... but still unique for the striped/spotted aloe group

This is Aloe hemmingii and the aloe most often incorrectly identified as Aloe harlana- note the pink flowers. This plant flowers off and on year round

Aloe hendrickxii is a fairly rare species but with pleasant orange flowers in fall- from the more tropical sections of Africa

This is not really a recognized species (Aloe 'heteracantha') but it has strikingly orange conical racemes- no other aloe has flowers quite like it

though not in possesion of one of the most ornamental flowers, Aloe hildebrandii at least has flowers year round, making it one of the few species that do this

This flower, though not huge, is still comically large for the dinky plant it comes out of (Aloe humilis)

though the plants are nicely maroon in times of stress, this mid-African aloe (Aloe imalotensis) does not have the most ornamental flowers

Aloe isaloensis has extremely open racemes and the same colors a lot of smaller aloes have

This is Aloe inyangensis, one of the easiest grass aloes to grow in southern California. The color scheme is a common one for grass aloes

Aloe jucunda is a wonderfully ornamental dwarf aloe- the pale pink open racemes are not this plant's strong point

Aloe kedongensis is a summer flowerer and has short, head-shaped open racemes

Aloe labworana is one of the few aloes that has large branching inflorescences with yellow flowers

Close-up of this curious raceme that seems one-sided and laterally oriented- this is unique flower

Aloe lineata has solitary, unbranching inflorescences in summer- one of the few tree aloes to bloom that time of year

though this is an Aloe lineata hybrid, it has a lot of resemblence to the mother plant's flowers

Aloe littoralis is another 'tree aloe' that takes many years to get there... but it also has spectacular flowers.. though this is a hybrid of it with the same shaped inflorescence, but a bit more spectacular flower color

Aloe longistyla is sort of an 'ugly dwarf' aloe... but its flowers are amazing, not just for their ornamental value, but also how they dwarf the rest of the plant

last, but not least in this alphabetical snippet of aloes is Aloe lutescens. These have bicolored narrow conical racemes that look quite impressive in mass plantings

Here is a closer view of these amazing flowers in winter

Be sure to look for the subsequent chapter on Flowering Aloes (part 3 of the 5 part series)

About Geoff Stein   Veterinarian and Exotic Plant Lover... and obsessive, compulsive collector of all oddball tropical and desert plants.

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Subject: Aloe plants

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Posted by GrandmaMary (from Smith's Parish
(Bermuda)) on November 26, 2007 at 8:51 PM:

Thanks for an interesting artlicle. I had no idea there were so many varieties! I have a couple growing in my back yard. They have lightish green leaves and orange flowers, but do not bloom very profusely or often. I am wondering what kind of soil they like and if there is any plant food that might help them. There are some places in Bermuda where they appear to grow wild and they bloom much more than mine, which is why I am wondering if my soil might be the problem.

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Posted by Porphyrostachys (from Apache Jct., AZ) on November 20, 2007 at 9:38 PM:

But you know me...I gotta make some corrections on your ID's. :)

The flowers of a true A. descoingsii are more orange and nowhere near as tubular. They look like tiny little tea cups on a stem usually.

The last photo of a 'hybrid of excelsa and something else' before the 1st photo of A. ferox is actually Aloe rupestris.

The flowers you have of Aloe isaloensis look like a Gasteria to me.

Looks like I need to upload a photo of the fairly tall Aloe littoralis flowering in the yard currently. Nice hybrid though. :)

Good job otherwise! :)

Jordan

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Posted by thistlesifter (from Vista, CA) on December 11, 2007 at 7:29 AM:

Geoff,

Great job here! your offerings never cease to amaze us and this is a classic.

Jordan,

I acquired a plant that grows and looks like the plant in Geoff's snippet that you are calling rupestris.

I'm not a taxonomist nor expert. I look at images in Reynolds S.A. book fig. 528 and reading his description, see many similarities, but based on that I quit calling my plant rupestris. Mine suckers just like Geoff's imaged plant. The flower looks like Reynold's image (like Geoff's image). However, the leaf growth habit doesn't look the same (quite a different look to the arc of the leaf mass) and the trunk is not nearly as visible as Reynold's describes and illustrates. I suppose some allowances for variation are inevitable.

I have seedlings now of rupestris (alledgedly the REAL rupestris acquired from reliable documented source) so I will have a few more reference plants to compare.

Agree the littoralis X that Geoff images is awesome, maybe even better than real littoralis (quite often hybrids are better).

bob

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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on November 20, 2007 at 12:42 PM:

And still more to come? Wow, I had no idea there were so many aloes, with so many interesting flowers! Thanks again, and I'm looking forward to more.

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Posted by melody (from Benton, KY) on November 20, 2007 at 8:32 PM:

As usual, my zone envy is rearing it's head. I can see why you are so smitten by these plants. They are easy to get hooked on!

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Posted by Islandshari (from Kwajalein
(Marshall Islands)) on December 12, 2007 at 10:49 PM:

Geoff, I just had the pleasure of reading/enjoying this article. I am in awe! You have taken what was once just a handy space filling plant for me, and turned it into a beautiful Cinderella of botony. Such lovely flowers from some insignificant, some magnificent plants. Thank you for once again opening my eyes to a whole new world of Aloes.

Yokwe,
Shari

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