Aloes and Lilies of Ethiopia and Eritrea

92 ALOACEAE
Fig. 48. Aloe
adigratana, from
near Mekele,
Tigray floristic
region.
Description
Habitat and
distribution
Aloe sinana
Description
Shrubby, stem erect to 1 m long or decumbent to 2 m long. Leaves
crowded, 40–60 × 7–15 cm, deeply canaliculate, dull­green with
numerous pale green spots on the lower third to quarter of both
surfaces, margin with 4–5 spines per 10 cm. Marginal spines 3–4
mm long, reddish-brown. Inflorescence to 1 m high, branched
with 3–5 racemes. Racemes cylindrical­conical, 12–22 cm long,
densely flowered (c. 8 flowers per cm). Bracts ovate-acuminate to
almost triangular, 8–12 × 2.5–4 mm. Pedicels (12–)14–20 mm long.
Perianth subclavate, 25–27(–33) mm long, 6–8 mm wide, orange or
yellow, outer segments free for 13–16 mm.
The species grows in rocky places, mostly on sandstone,
also on basement complex between 2000 and 2700 m in
Tigray floristic region in northern Ethiopia. It is so far not
known anywhere else. The main flowering period is from
January to April.
33. Aloe sinana Reynolds
The specific epithet ‘sinana’ refers to the place, Debre
Sina in northeastern Shewa where the type collection was
made by Reynolds. The species was described in 1957.
A. sinana belongs to a group of cau les cent aloes
(numbers 31­41) mainly characterized by erect, ascending
or spraw ling stems. A. sinana is is distinguished from the
related species occurring in central and northern Ethiopia
by the subclavate perianth, 23–27 mm long, and the ovate
bracts, 7–8 × 2 mm.
Succulent shrub, stems 1–2 m long, sprawling or ascending. Leaves
± crowded, 40–60 × 10–15 cm, canaliculate only towards tip,
bluish to greyish- green, sometimes flushed reddish, with elongated