Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Fig. 43. Aloe rivae, from north of Mega, Sidamo floristic region.
Habitat and
distribution
Aloe secundiflora
ALOE
85
40–60 × 9–13.5(–17) cm, ascending, incurved to slightly reflexed,
dull olive to brownish green flushed red towards margins. Marginal
teeth 7–14 per 10 cm, 3.5–4 mm long, with minute brown tips.
Inflorescence 60–70 cm high, conical with many branches, having
50 racemes or more. Racemes (10–)15–20 cm long, cylindrical,
lax (3 flowers per cm). Bracts ovate (2–)3–4.5 × (2–)3 –3.5 mm.
Pedicels 7–12 mm long. Perianth cylindrical­trigonous with truncate
base, 24–32 mm long, 9.5–10.5 mm wide near base when pressed,
scarlet, rarely yellow; outer lobes free for 6–10 mm. Capsule 18–20
mm long.
The species grows at the margins of deciduous woodland
and Juniperus forest, sometimes on rocky outcrops
between 1360 and 2000 m in Sidamo floristic region in
southern Ethiopia. It also occurs in Northern Kenya. The
main flowering period is from September to December.
28. Aloe secundiflora Engler
The specific epithet ‘secundiflora’, refers to the
arrangement towards the same side (secundus) of the
flowers (-floris) in the inflorescence. The species was
described by Engler in 1895 based on material that was
collected in the Moshi District in Tanzania.
A. secundiflora is an almost unique species among the
stemless aloes in Ethiopia by having the flowers arranged
towards one side of the inflorescence (also seen in some