Aloe suzannae (Suzanne’s aloe)

Aloe suzannae is native to Madagascar, and not found in the wild in North America. It is a critically endangered species. The few plants in botanical gardens were collected more than 50 years ago; no more are known to exist in the wild.

Plants: These small perennial succulent evergreen trees are up to 9½′ (3 m) high (rarely as high as 26′ (8 m)), with a trunk up to 8″ (20 cm) around.

Leaves: Rosettes are 3–5′ (90–150 cm) around, consisting of thick gray-green leaves, sometimes tinged with yellow or red. Leaves are lanceolate to linear, tapering to blunt tips, and are 2½–3′ (80–100 cm) long.

Flowers: A single unbranched stalk 1½–5′ (50–150 cm) tall (rarely up to 20′ (6 m)!) supports the inflorescence, a raceme with up to 1000 white or cream-colored flowers.

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	suzannae	For Suzanne Decary, the daughter of French naturalist and plant collector Raymond Decary (1891-1973) who studied and collected extensively in Madagascar

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