Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

74 ALOACEAE
Aloe rugosifolia
Description
Fig. 34. Aloe
rugosifolia,
a cultivated
plant originally
collected near
Yabello, Sidamo
floristic region.
18. Aloe rugosifolia Gilbert & Sebsebe
The specific epithet ‘rugosifolia’ refers to the wrinkled
(rugosus) leaves (folia) surface. The species was
described in 1992. The type material was collected in
Northern Kenya.
The species is a member of the group of spotted aloes
(numbers 15–18) with tough leaf skins. It is distinguished
from the rest of the group by the distinctive finely rugose
to rugulose leaf surfaces, a character which is rather
unique among the Aloe species occurring in tropical
Africa and Arabia.
Rosettes solitary or in small groups, stemless. Leaves spreading,
recurved in young plants, later erect to incurved, 20–40 × 5.5–8
cm, finely rugose, green with clearly defined pale spots. Marginal
spines 10–16 per 10 cm, 4–5 mm long, brown, sometimes almost
contiguous. Inflorescence 1.5–1.8 m high, branched with up to
10 racemes. Racemes 10–20 cm long, cylindrical or conical, 7–8
flowers per cm. Bracts 9–11(–13) × 4–8 mm, acute, scarious.
Pedicels 5–7 mm long. Perianth subclavate to cylindrical, 25–28