Aloe greatheadii var. davyana

Aloe greatheadii var. davyana (Schonl.) H.F. Glen & D.S. Hardy

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
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	greatheadii
var.	davyana

About plant names...

Aloe greatheadii var. davyana is native to the northern provinces of South Africa, including the Free State and northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal, and it is very common in Gauteng. The species, greatheadii, is named for Dr. J. B. Greathead, who collected it.

Identification: Rosettes are up to 18" (45 cm) wide, and do not have a stem. Leaves are up to 9" (22 cm) long, green to deep ruby red, flecked with oval gray patches, triangular to lance-shaped. Flower stalks have up to 6 branches, up to 20' (6 m) high. See desert-tropicals.com. Flowers are pale pink to red.

See the Aloe comparison table.

Online References:

Aloe greatheadii var. davyana on the South African National Biodiversity Institute's web site, plantzafrica.com

Aloe greatheadii var. davyana on Desert-tropicals.com

Aloe greatheadii var. davyana on EcoPort

Aloe greatheadii var. davyana on Tim Peatling’s Professional Gallery

Aloe greatheadii on www.aloes.wz.cz

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