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Aloe excelsa

Aloe

Scientific name: Aloe excelsa

English name: Zimbabwe aloe

Shona names: Chigiakia, Chikohwa, Chiyangami, Gava, Rukwati, Godzongo

Ndebele names: Imangani, Inhlaba

Succulent plants, such as aloes, store water in their enlarged fleshy leaves, stems or roots. This allows them to survive in arid environments. There are over 500 species of aloe, with many varieties, sub-species and hybrids.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is aloe-in-bush.jpg

Aloe excelsa is:

  • One of a few aloes indigenous to southern Africa that are considered to be trees.
  • A single-stemmed small tree, on granite outcrops or on steep rocky slopes in Msasa woodland.
  • At the top of the aloe excelsa stem is a rosette of large, thick, fleshy leaves. 
  • During winter (July to September) orange to deep crimson flowers appear, a tube at the top of a simple or branched leafless stem.
Aloe – orange version
Aloe – close up of flowers

Robin Wild

Robin Wild – Retired director of NGOs devoted to public good, but also a passionate amateur botanist and lover of the Zimbabwean bush, following in the footsteps of his famous botanist father, Hiram Wild.

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