The Phyto-Philes: Lowly Aloe
Created | Updated May 17, 2015
Lowly Aloe
Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"
I've shared with you some of my country's largest aloe species, like the Quiver Tree and the Mountain Aloe. This time I show you one of my country's smallest aloes! Aloe humilis doesn't have a widely used common name, but we could call it the 'Humble Aloe' or 'Lowly Aloe', since that is what its scientific name means. It is indeed a low-growing aloe. The rosettes rarely grow taller than 4"/10cm.
A Small Desert Plant
This plant is found from the eastern parts of the Western Cape province to the western parts of the Eastern Cape. It grows in semi-desert country, covered with thorny thickets and succulent scrub. Plants growing in the open are smaller than ones growing in the shade of bushes. The leaves of this aloe are covered with a waxy layer that lightens their colour to a bluish grey, and that slows down evaporation. The tips of the leaves also tend to die when it is dry, while the leaves curve inward. Thus this outer layer of dry tips protects the inner parts of the leaves and rosettes, most particularly the growth tip at the centre, from drying out. These strategies help the little rosettes to survive in such a harsh, dry environment. But actually these semi-deserts of the very south of southern Africa are not as harsh as the deserts of the hotter, more tropical regions. They receive softer, more frequent rains. In particular, where the lowly aloe grows, rains can come at any time of the year. Droughts are not as long and hard as they are for instance in the Kalahari, or in the Namib, which is a true desert. Because of this, these southern deserts have a much higher proportion of small succulents like this one. Indeed, these small succulents are incredibly diverse. The lowly aloe shares its environment with scores of other species like mesembs, crassulas, gasterias and haworthias (which are relatives of aloes) and euphorbias. How all these plant species co-exist without outcompeting each other is an interesting question for botanists.
Apart from the strategies the lowly aloe uses to conserve water, it also has strategies in place to help it reproduce and disperse. First there are its flowers. These are borne in August and September, late winter to early spring here in the southern hemisphere. The inflorescence of this plant, as you can see, is much taller than the rosettes, reaching a height of 35 cm/14", and bears remarkably large flowers. They can be yellow, orange, pink or red. So, while the plant itself hardly draws attention, the flowers are conspicuous and attract pollinating insects from afar. The flower stalk is even robust enough that nectar-drinking birds like the tiny sunbirds can perch on it! Thus the flowers get pollinated. Next, the fruit grows. Aloe fruit start out plump and juicy but then dry out and become woody capsules that split open to release the fine, papery seeds. These are blown far and wide by the winds. Seeds need to fall in a sheltered, moist spot, where they can germinate and grow into tiny, new plants. If they survive their first year, they are set.
Another strategy this plant uses, is forming new clumps by suckering. The suckers grow out from the base of the rosettes, forming new rosettes with their own root systems. Look at the second photo for an example. There you see a clump of rosettes, together with one detached rosette. In Nature, animals sometimes dig up aloes. That ends up fragmenting the rosettes, but any that survive, can then easily re-root. And if the animals were very active, they might end up rooting some distance away from their original position. This helps with distributing the plants over short distances. They are hardy enough to survive for several weeks out of the soil. They only need to be wedged somewhere, such as in a nook formed by stones, and then they can send down new roots.
Growing the Lowly Aloe
This is another species that is remarkably easy to cultivate. These aloes are small enough to be kept in a small pot in a tiny flat, and can be kept either on sunny or shady windowsills. They can stand light frost, and can be grown outdoors in southern Europe and the southern USA, especially if sheltered between other plants and rocks in a succulent garden. They can be grown from seeds as easily as other aloes, seeds being released in large numbers in the wild, and available for purchase from Silverhill Seeds, based here in South Africa and mailing seeds all over the world. Sprinkle the seeds over a well-draining medium, with coarse sand and a small amount of compost, sprinkle a thin layer of sand over them, and keep them moist. The plants start out very small and must be 'babied' a bit until the rosettes are strongly rooted. Don't overwater them – at any stage, but especially not while they're still young, tender and susceptible to fungal infections.
Another very easy way to propagate them is by dividing the clumps. Remove the plants from the soil – they hardly mind that. Use a sharp, clean knife blade and cut the rosettes apart at the base where the suckers emerge. Let them dry out for three days to a week before re-planting. Use a similar well-draining soil mix, with a moderate amount of compost. They don't need rich soils. Start the new plants out in light shade; keep them there or move them to full sun, later, as you prefer. As I've said, in shade and in fairly moist conditions, the plants will grow larger leaves that 'spread out' more, while in the sun and in drier conditions, the leaves will be smaller and curve inward to protect the growth tips. Flowering should happen by the second year at most. These plants can be considered as slow-growing, but then the rosettes remain small so they don't have much to grow, and are already interesting, tiny specimens in their first year.
