Aloe pluridens

Aloe pluridens
Aloe pluridens plants in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Xanthorrhoeaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Aloe
Species:	A. pluridens
Binomial name
Aloe pluridens Haw.

Aloe pluridens (also known as the French Aloe) is an arborescent aloe indigenous to southern Africa.

Description

File:Aloe pluridens (2).jpg

Detail of inflorescence

This species can occasionally grow up to 6 meters in height. It is usually single-stemmed (however in cultivation conditions it sometimes forms multiple branches). Its thin, recurved, light-green leaves form an elegant and symmetrical spiral in their growth around the rosette. The leaves are lined with large numbers of white teeth (its name "pluri-dens" means "multiple-teeth")

This species is frequently confused with the related species Aloe ferox, Aloe africana and Aloe excelsa. However it has more thin delicate leaves and trunk than these robust arborescent aloe species. In its multi-branched form, it can also look similar to the smaller multi-branched Aloe arborescens. The French Aloe's flowers are different from all of these other species though, and the spiral leaf-growth is also distinctive.

Distribution and habitat

File:Aloe pluridens, a, Krantzkloof Natuurreservaat.jpg

Aloe pluridens in habitat.

The French Aloe is found in a wide coastal belt in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa.

Here its habitat is often dense thickets. It often grows in association with Aloe ferox, A. africana and A. speciosa, and hybrids can occur. The climate is moderate, without frost, and hot and humid during summers. Rainfall occurs throughout the year, from 600 to 700 mm per annum.