Aloe comosa
Clanwilliam aloe
Family Asphodelaceae
About
Aloe comosa, the Clanwilliam aloe, is a single-stemmed tree aloe restricted to a small area of the Western Cape, South Africa.
Care at a glance
- Pet safety
- Not recorded. We have no source on whether this plant is safe for cats, dogs or other pets — that is not the same as safe. Keep it out of reach until you have checked.
- People
- Not recorded.
- Mature size
- Single stem to about 3 m; flower stalks up to 2 m.
Field notes
Morphology
An unbranched stem up to about 3 m carries a rosette of thick leaves roughly 60 cm long, curved upward at the edges and lined with brown-red teeth. Dead leaves persist as a shaggy skirt. Flower stalks up to 2 m tall end in dense spikes of small flowers.
Distribution & habitat
A small region of the Western Cape; first found in 1905 in the Olifants River Valley north of Clanwilliam.
Ecology
Flowers in summer, like most South African aloes.
Cultivation notes
Kept as a collector’s and ornamental plant. Experienced growers keep it outdoors in dry climates such as Arizona and California, or in a desert-climate greenhouse. It is not one of the aloes used medicinally.
History & etymology
Named by the German botanists Alwin Berger and Rudolf Marloth; the discoverer is unrecorded.
Habitat
- Altitude
- Not recorded
- Altitude class
- —
- Native to
- South Africa
- IUCN status
- Data deficient
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- intermediate
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Crossed A. comosa with another species?Register the cross. If it's not documented yet you'll be the first contributor; if someone already registered it, you'll be taken there to add your photo.