![]() ![]() Seed are best sown in spring to autumn and will generally germinate within three weeks. Cuttings can be planted directly into the required position and normally root within 1 to 3 months.Īll tree aloes can fairly easily be grown from seed and are relatively fast growing (except A. tongaensis and A. pillansii). Cuttings should be made during the warmer months, using a sharp pruning shear or saw and the wound treated to prevent infection. Most tree aloes (except A. dichotomum and A. pillansii, and to some extent A. ramosissimum) can be grown from stem cuttings or truncheons. Aloidendron dichotomum, A. pillansii and A. ramosissimum prefer full sun, whereas A. barberae and A. tongaensis can tolerate more shady conditions. All tree aloes prefer a well-drained position with no to very little frost. However, the 3 tree aloes from the arid western regions, although easily grown in conditions simulating their natural habitat, are difficult to cultivate in high rainfall areas. The fact that tree aloes adapt well to cultivation and are thus generally easily grown, has led to them being widely utilised as focal points in large gardens. Common threats to the survival of tree aloes are habitat degradation and destruction, trampling of seedlings by livestock, illegal harvesting and climate change. Aloidendron eminens (from Somalia) is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the Red List of South African plants, A. barberae and A. tongaensis are listed as Least Concern (LC), A. dichotomum and A. ramosissimum as Vulnerable (V) and A. pillansii as Endangered (E). It is thus illegal to remove plants from their natural habitat without the necessary collecting and transport permits issued by a provincial or other nature conservation authority, and consent from the land owner. In South Africa tree aloes are also protected by national and provincial environmental legislation. The other tree aloes are all on Appendix II and, therefore, certain permits are required to trade in them. Aloidendron pillansii is included in Appendix I, and trade in specimens of this tree aloe is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. dichotomum) was estimated to be between 100–145 years old.Īll species of Aloidendron appear on CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Appendices, meaning that trade in tree aloes is controlled, to prevent utilisation that would be incompatible with their survival. Tree aloes all flower in late autumn to winter, except for Aloidendron pillansii that flowers in spring (October in the southern hemisphere).Īpart from the slow-growing A. pillansii and A. tongaensis, most other tree aloes are relatively fast growing. The fruit are capsules that dry out and split open to release the mature seed. Flowers are cylindric and slightly swollen in the middle. In the species occurring in the west of the genus’s distribution range, flowers are yellow, whereas they are pink or orange to reddish in the eastern species. Leaf margins are armed with small teeth and the leaf surface is green to grey-green with no spots.įlowers are grouped in branched inflorescences with rather lax or dense, cylindric racemes (flower clusters). The succulent, erectly spreading to recurved leaves are carried in clusters (rosettes) at the tips of branches, and are narrowly lance- or sword-shaped in outline and boat-shaped in cross-section. Their grey to yellowish bark is smooth or longitudinally fissured and cracked, and often with a powdery bloom. Some of the largest species can grow up to 20 m tall. Most have a tall trunk and rounded crown. ![]() Tree aloes form large trees and shrubs, with forked (dichotomous) branches.
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