Stem: Acaulescent or very shortly caulescent, hardly 10 cm high. The foliage is arranged in five spiral ranks each of them containing between 15 and 30 leaves. Rosette: Unbranched, with 80-150 leaves in a large and low whorl about 30-60 cm wide. The leaves are arranged in perfect clockwise or anti-clockwise spirals and form a flattened whorl that resembles a lavish bow, hence the common name “Spiral Aloe”ĭerivation of specific name: The name "polyphylla" comes from Greek words "poly" meaning many and "phylla" meaning leaves. The spiral formation of its grey-green leaves, cannot be confused with any other known aloe. They occur usually in dense groups of twelve to twenty-four, individual plant as they do not form off-shoots.ĭescription: Aloe polyphyllaSN|12242]]SN|12242]] is a very peculiar plant, considered by many the most beautiful aloe. In their habitat they are used to go down to -10° to -20° C overnight which usually warms to 10 to15 C during the day, and summer temps varies from 15° to 22° C so it's a very cool climate. It is also the only aloe that thrives in temperatures well below freezing and in winter the plants are often under snow. The average annual rainfall is around 1100 mm mainly from spring to autumn. In summer the plants receive continual flow of water and the rainfall is very high and the climate cool. They grow in damp places on rich but very draining peaty, rather clayey, black soil mainly among crushed basalt rocks or in crevices. Habitat: They live in high altitude grassland just below the snow line, mainly on very steep slopes facing North or North-west but plants growing at higher altitudes are found only on the East facing slopes where they can receive the morning sun. In cultivation in the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.Origin and Habitat: Aloe polyphylla is endemic of the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, but also reported from the Lesotho border with the Free State and (possibly) from KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg.Īltitude: 2000-2500 m over sea level (but may be found as high as 3000 m ) The species is listed on Appendix I of CITES meaning commercial international trade is prohibited. In South Africa, it is a criminal offence to remove plants or seed of Aloe polyphylla from their natural habitat or to buy plants from roadside vendors. The species is highly sought after as an ornamental but is difficult to cultivate and usually soon dies if removed from its natural habitat. The region also has a very high summer rainfall and this moisture is augmented by the clouds which engulf the Lesotho mountain peaks. The climate is cool in the summer and in the winter the aloes are often covered in deep snow. Here it clings to rocky crevices and well-drained scree slopes. The spiral aloe grows in high, mountainous, grassy slopes at altitudes between 2,000 and 2,599 m (6,560 and 8,530 ft), and sometimes higher on east-facing slopes. This aloe flowers at the beginning of summer, producing flowers that range in colour from red to salmon pink and occasionally yellow, at the head of robust, branched inflorescences. The fat, wide, serrated, gray-green leaves have sharp, dark leaf-tips and grow in the five spiral rows. The plants do not seem to sucker or produce offshoots, but from the germination of their seeds they can form small, dense clumps. Description Spiral formed by leaves with emerging flower bud.Īloe polyphylla is a stemless aloe and grows its leaves in a very distinctive spiral shape which may be clockwise or anti-clockwise. Taxonomically, it forms part of the Rhodacanthae series of very closely related Aloe species, together with Aloe glauca, Aloe lineata and Aloe pratensis. The species epithet polyphylla means "many-leaved" in Greek. An evergreen succulent perennial, it is well known for its strikingly symmetrical, five-pointed spiral growth habit.Īloe polyphylla is commonly known as the spiral aloe in English, kroonaalwyn in Afrikaans, or lekhala kharetsa in Sesotho. Aloe polyphylla, the spiral aloe, kroonaalwyn, lekhala kharetsa, or many-leaved aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Aloe that is endemic to the Kingdom of Lesotho in the Drakensberg mountains.
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