General Plant Information (Edit)
| Plant Habit: |
Cactus/Succulent
|
| Life cycle: |
Perennial
|
| Sun Requirements: |
Full Sun to Partial Shade
|
| Plant Height: |
Up to 2-3 feet |
| Leaves: |
Evergreen
Other: Spotted when young
|
| Fruit: |
Dehiscent
|
| Flowers: |
Showy
Other: All parts of racemes are completely glabrous
|
| Flower Color: |
Pink
Red
|
| Bloom Size: |
1"-2"
|
| Suitable Locations: |
Xeriscapic
|
| Uses: |
Will Naturalize
|
| Wildlife Attractant: |
Hummingbirds
|
| Resistances: |
Drought tolerant
|
| Propagation: Seeds: |
Can handle transplanting
Other info: Sow seeds in sandy soil. Seeds germinate in a few weeks at temperatures between 68 and 75 degrees F. Seedlings need moist but well-drained soil.
|
| Propagation: Other methods: |
Cuttings: Stem
Offsets
Other: Stems cut below a node root easily. Cut a stem that has gotten leggy, let it dry out for at least a few hours to form a seal on the cut surface. Place the cutting in rooting medium kept moist, but not wet, until roots form.
|
| Containers: |
Needs excellent drainage in pots
|
| Miscellaneous: |
With thorns/spines/prickles/teeth
|
| Conservation status: |
Vulnerable (VU)
|
Posted by
Baja_Costero (Baja California - Zone 11b) on Oct 19, 2018 12:44 PM concerning plant:
Small to medium East African aloe from the coast of Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya. A subspecies is also found on Madagascar. The plant may be solitary or form small clumps. Inflorescence has a few to several branches and reddish/pinkish flowers. Leaves are spotted when young. Commonly misidentified.
This aloe was originally described by Reynolds in 1959 based on plants found in Tanzania, including plants found on old Arab graves near Dar es Salaam. He named it for the port city Massawa in Eritrea, where he thought these plants originated. Nearly 40 years later this description was found by Carter et al. to encompass two separate groups, one from Tanzania and another from Eritrea, with distinct features, especially the inflorescences. A new species was described at that time to refer to the northern group, and massawana (despite its name) now refers only to the southern group.
Aloe eumassawana is distinct from massawana in a few ways, but still frequently confused with it. A. eumassawana tends to clump much more, and the inflorescences on eumassawana have fewer branches (1-2 instead of 2-7). One key distinguishing feature is that A. eumassawana has fine hairs on the racemes, while massawana does not. They are also different in other ways: Aloe eumassawana racemes are more laxly flowered; its flowers are orange-red instead of dusty pink; its flowers are shorter; its leaves are wider.
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