Aloe striata.
From South Africa the Coral aloe is occasionally seen in cultivation in Brisbane.
The International Plant Names Index IPNI recognises the synonyms Aloe albocincta, Aloe hanburiana,
Aloe paniculata, Aloe rhodocincta and Aloe striata var. rhodocincta.
There is a lot of confusion between the species plant and its hybrids.
Many descriptions under the heading of Aloe striata actually describe the hybrids.
The succulent plants grow to 45 or 50 cm high and over 60 cm wide.
They have a dense basal rosette of up to 20 leaves.
Over years the lowest leaves die off and it can develop a stem up to 50 cm high.
They are solitary as no offsets are formed.
The wide flat lanceolate leaves are 30 to 45 cm long, 10 to 20 cm wide and under 1 cm thick.
They can be green, grey-green or grey depending on the amount of bloom on then.
In bright sun or harsh conditions they have a pink or reddish tinge.
The surface is smooth and the edge is pink or red but has no teeth.
There are no spots but longitudinal lines that are usually faint but occasionally marked.
The smooth pink edge and lines define the species.
Each plant can have 1 to 3 inflorescences each year that are up to 60 cm high.
The branches of the thick green peduncle can themselves branch 2 to 3 times forming a large panicle.
At the base of each branch is a small bract.
Each of the up to 20 branches has a short raceme of closely spaced flowers.
Each flower is on a pedicel up to 2 cm long with a small bracteole (usually called a bract) at the base.
The tubular flowers have a slightly curved perianth up to around 2.5 cm long.
It is constricted above the ovary then widens to the mouth.
The 6 tepals are in 2 whorls with the outer 3 being fractionally longer than the inner ones.
True species plants have coral red flowers with a pale edge on the lobe tips.
There are 6 stamens that lie within the perianth tube.
There are nectaries at the base of the ovary.
The ovary has 3 locules with 2 rows of ovules in each.
The thin style extends just past the tube.
The fruit are loculicidal capsules with numerous seeds.
Aloe striata x A. maculata.
There are a number of hybrids and cultivars between the 2 species with some features of each plant.
They are much more commonly seen than the species plant.
Plants are often smaller being around 30 cm high.
The rosettes have more leaves and will form clumps.
The blue-green leaves sometimes have the pink edge of the A. striata parent.
They have spines on the edge that are softer than those of A. maculata.
The panicles have pale coral-red, dark orange or apricot flowers.
Cultivars include ‘Ghost Aloe’ and ‘Coral Profusion’.
J.F.
