Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

76 ALOACEAE
Description
Habitat and
distribution
Aloe monticola
Mostly stemless but eventually developing a stem up to 30 cm long.
Leaves numerous, 40–50 × 8–12 cm, glossy dark­green, sometimes
spotted when young, with a horny layer along the margin which
usually is contiguous between the spines. Marginal spines 8–10 per
10 cm, 4–5 mm long, dark-brown. Inflorescence with 3–8 racemes.
Racemes subcapitate to cylindrical, 4–9(–20) cm, densely flowered.
Bracts ovate, 9.5–15 × 3–6.5 mm, acuminate. Pedicels 11.5–18(–28
in fruit) mm. Perianth cylindrical­trigonous, 22–28 mm long, 4.5–7
mm wide when pressed, bright yellow or red; outer lobes free for
10–15 mm. Capsule 20–25 × 6–9 mm.
The species grows on sparsely vegetated slopes, often on
limestone, between 1650 and 2100 m in Harerge floristic
region. It is so far not known anywhere else. The main
flowering period is in the rainy season from April to May,
sometimes also from September to October.
20. Aloe monticola Reynolds
The specific epithet ‘monticola’ refers to the habitat of the
species: mountain (mon ti­) dweller (­cola). The species
was described in 1957 from type material collected near
Maychew in Tigray floristic region.
A. monticola and the previous species, A. harlana,
belong to a group of aloes (numbers 19 & 20) which have
a brownish cartilagenous tissue along the leaf margins,
usually forming a continuous edge between the spines,
and a bright yellow to red perianth. A. monticola is
distingished from A. harlana by the larger bracts (20–22
Fig. 36. Aloe monticola, from near Dessie, Welo floristic region.