Aloe barberae (Large tree aloe)

This is Africa’s largest aloe, a beautiful and unmistakable tree. It is found in the eastern regions of southern Africa: Mozambique, Swaziland and Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, South Africa. Its species name, barberae, is for Mary Elizabeth Barber, a plant collector who sent specimens of the plant to the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.

Plants: Trees are up to 49′ (15 m) high and 3′ (90 cm) in diameter. Eventually the tree forms a rounded crown, with leaves grouped in dense rosettes up to 5′ (1.5 m) in diameter.

Flowers: The racemes (flowerheads) are conical, up to 2′ (60 cm) long. Individual flowers are 1–1¼″ (3–3.7 cm) long, and pale yellow, orange-yellow, or salmon-pink; tipped with green.

Fruits: Brown dehiscent capsules containing pale brown seeds with broad wings. They are ovoid and up to 1½″ long ⨉ ⅝″ in diameter (4 ⨉ 1.7 cm).

Habitats: In the eastern regions of southern Africa: Mozambique, Swaziland and Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, South Africa.

1/5/2026 · Epworth School, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa · By Benjamin Winslow ID is uncertain

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin)
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Asparagales	A diverse group that includes asparagus
Family	Xanthorrhoeaceae	Aloes, many tropical plants, flax lilies, daylilies, many others
Genus	Aloe	Means “goddess” in ancient Sanskrit, for its reputed use as a beauty aid; some sources suggest that the name comes from Alloeh, meaning “shining bitter substance”
Species	barberae	For discoverer Mary Elizabeth Barber (1818-1899), a pioneering British-born amateur scientist in botany, ornithology, and entomology

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