MyKrugerHoliday
Photo: JMK · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source ↗
Mountain Aloe
Bergaalwyn · Aloe marlothii
A rocky-hillside aloe that flowers in the depths of winter when little else is in bloom. The flower heads branch out almost horizontally, unlike most upright aloes.
Log your Mountain Aloe sighting — free →How to identify it
A tall, single-stemmed aloe up to several metres, with a dense rosette of broad, grey-green leaves armed with reddish spines on both surfaces. Old dried leaves usually skirt the stem.
Flowers & fruit
Winter (roughly May-Aug), with orange to red branched flower spikes
Browsed by
Leaves are tough and largely left alone; the nectar-rich flowers are visited by sunbirds, bees and insects, and baboons and some game eat the blooms.
Where to see it in Kruger
On rocky hills, ridges and koppies, including granite outcrops and the Lebombo hills.
Did you know
Its winter flowers are a lifeline nectar station, drawing sunbirds, other birds, bees and insects through the coldest, driest months when food is scarce.
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