Because the world is photogenic.
The wait has been long and insufferable at times, but after a full four years, the Stretlizia nicolai in the backyard is finally flowering. The flowers are admittedly much less colorful than those of Strelitzia reginae, but I was still super stoked when the first bracts emerged. Strelitzia nicolai, also known as the Giant White Bird of Paradise, is…
Read More
A few years ago, I came across―to my great dismay―a vast collection of neon-colored, spray-painted Gasteraloe plants in the garden center of a home improvement store. They are marketed as Kosmik Kaktus; the product label describes them as part of “a new lineup of cacti with out-of-this-world color.” The plants came in every imaginable (and unimaginable) outlandish hue,…
Read More
Siraitia grosvenorii is a perennial, deciduous, fruit-bearing vine endemic to southeast Asia, from the mountains of Guilin, China to northern Thailand. It belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, of which the squash, pumpkin, zucchini, watermelon, and cucumber are also members. The plant’s fruit, commonly known as “Buddha Fruit,” is edible and often cultivated for its natural, low-calorie…
Read More
This species is endemic to the Tororo district in eastern Uganda, from which it derives its name. It was first discovered there on bare rock surfaces by Henry C. Dawkins, a British botanist who spent many years in Uganda as a forest ecologist. Subsequently, Swiss botanist Peter R. O. Bally collected more samples, from which Reynolds gathered enough information to first publish it in 1953.
Read More
Aloe calcairophila is a cute miniature Aloe from an area south of Ambatofinandrahana in the Fianarantsoa Province in Madagascar. The region is part of the Central Highlands at an altitude of about 1400 m.
Read More
This species is a small Aloe from Madagascar, naturally found near granite outcrops on slopes of the Itremo Mountains at altitudes of 5000 – 6000 ft. Although it is considered critically endangered in the wild, it is commonly cultivated because of its small size, suitability to indoor planting, and attractive appearance—its epithet reflects it being a little, beautiful plant.
Read More
Aloe scorpioides is a widely branching Aloe endemic to the western slopes of the Serra da Chela mountains in southern Angola, close to the Atlantic coast. There, it can be found growing out of rocky slopes, or in the shade of forests at lower altitudes.
Read More
Aloe fouriei is a relatively recently discovered grass Aloe endemic to the Mpumalanga province in South Africa. It is found among dolomite formations near the towns of Lydenberg and Pilgrim’s Rest, on steep slopes at altitudes of 5000 ft. The species is named after Steve Fourie, a local conservation officer who first discovered the plant.
Read More
Aloe arenicola is a unique, low creeping Aloe endemic to the Northern Cape province of South Africa, near the town of Kleinsee. Its natural distribution is along a narrow, 500 km strip along the western coast, from the Namibian border down to Lambert’s Bay. The plant grows on very arid, sandy soils near sea level. Its name, meaning sand-inhabiting, refers to its natural sandy habitat.
Read More
Until 1996, this species was thought to be identical to Aloe massawana. Reynolds, who named the latter species, had not seen any populations in the wild. He only had access to original records indicating that the plant could be found near the town of Massawa (modern-day Mitsiwa) in Eritrea and along the eastern coast of Tanzania. He therefore chose the name massawana, but applied it to the Tanzanian specimens. In 1996, Carter et al. proved that the Eritrean specimens are in fact a distinct species, and named it Aloe eumassawana; the epithet alludes to it being truly from Massawa.
Read More