Aloe miskatana

Aloe miskatana

Family: Asphodelaceae

Plants treellike. Stems to 2 m tall, erect, naked below, simple or with several branches forming from the base. Leaves 30-36 cm long 3-7 cm wide, lanceolate-attenuate, green, young leaves with a few, scattered, whitish spots on the upper surfaces, most densely spotted on lower surfaces; margins narrowly whitish cartilaginous, with forward-pointing, triangular teeth; teeth about 1 mm long, 5-9 mm apart. Inflorescences to 70 cm long, erect, with 7-18 horizontally spreading branches in the upper part; peduncles  with ovate, scarious bracts up to 6 mm long subtending the branches; branches 4-12 cm long, racemose, the flowers well-spaced; bracts subtending the pedicles to 5 mm long, 2 mm wide, lanceolate, scarious, with a darker median line; pedicels about 7 mm long in flower, to 17 mm long in fruit. Flowers 25-27 mm long, 7-8 mm wide across the ovary; perianth pale yellow with greenish tips, cylindrical-trigonous, base rounded, narrowing slightly distally, outer segments fee for about 9 mm, inner segments whitish with a dark median line.

Sowing instructions: Seeds germinate very well but may damp off if overwatered. Use a mixture of river sand, compost and soil to sow seeds in. Sprinkle the seeds evenly on the surface and cover with a layer of small pebbles. The pebbles help the seedlings to stay upright and prevent damping off. Keep seed tray in a dry warm corner and do not allow to dry out. Transplant the seedlings after one year.

Locality: Somalia. Harvest: February 2025