Aloe alooides (Bolus) van Druten


   
 

Aloe alooides, also known as graskop aloe or graskopaalwyn which in Afrikaans means grass head aloe, is native to dolomite soils in the high moist mountains of Mpumalanga, or Eastern Transvaal. It is one of the South African tree aloes, and has often been confused with A. thraskii, which is a coastal species. It is called 'alooides,' which means 'resembling an aloe,' because it was originally in a different genus, having been given the name Urginia alooides and then later Aloe recurvifolia. The single usually unbranched stem can be as much as 7' tall and the mature leaves are long, strongly recurved, and armed with reddish-brown teeth. The upper part of ther stem is often covered with old dried leaves. Up to five long slender inflorescences may be borne from a single stem, and the flowers are small, bell-shaped and yellow in color.