Aloe secundiflora - 5ga

Aloe secundiflora, widespread in Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania, features a stemless, large rosette of glossy, spear-shaped leaves with brown teeth along the margins, appearing bronze in full sun. Its plastic-like leaves rarely offset, exhibiting acaulescent rosettes with slightly recurved tips and spots on young plants. Flowering in mid-winter to early spring, its branched inflorescence boasts cylindrical racemes of red-pink to pale pink flowers. Native to grassland and open woodland on rocky soils in Tanzania, it produces upright flowers along lateral flowering stalks, with its sap widely used medicinally. Drought tolerant but requiring water for new leaf development, it thrives in full sun with summer irrigation and drier winter conditions. Hardy yet showing cold damage below 28°F, it forms live fences and serves as a garden ornamental in warmer climates, flourishing in both sun and shade.