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borrego_gw

Aloe IDs Please

borrego
18 years ago

Two aloes that asked permission to hitchhike to my house. The one on the left is A. crfyptopoda, I believe. The one on the right baffles me. It looks like A. striata, but has parallel vertical lines on one side of the leaf and whitish spots on the other side. What do you think?

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Comments (14)

  • patrick_in_fb
    18 years ago

    The one could well be cryptopoda, it's a little hard to tell at that age... but the other one is NOT striata! True striata has no spines along the leaf edge, and its characteristic thin red line on the leaf margin (from which it gets its name) shows up very early on. It might be a striata hybrid, they show up all the time in nurseries being passed off for the true species.

  • borrego
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Patrick - I am clueless as to the striata lookalike. Could easily be a hybrid, just thought it was unusual one side of the leaf has vertical stripes on it while the underside of the leaf has white spots. Strange. I do know there are a couple of varieties of striata, I will just wait and see (and grow this) to see what it looks like when bigger. If nothing else, it is a hybrid and I all ready have a trader!

  • rpw53
    18 years ago

    The left plant could also be wickensii.
    The plants on the right look more like microstigma but it is hard to tell from the photo. I find most striata hybrids look like striata with a few small spines...
    Peyton

  • borrego
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I was under the impression cryptopoda and wickensii were synonymous. The first one I ever bought was listed with both names on it. Also, if needed, I can reshoot the other two plants if needed.

  • greenlarry
    18 years ago

    That one on the right reminds me of my mysterious Aloe pup:
    {{gwi:465776}}

    {{gwi:465778}}

    {{gwi:465780}}

  • borrego
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Larry - post it and see what the experts have to say. I had a recent erinacea/melanacantha post, but my grisled plant is much larger..........

  • patrick_in_fb
    18 years ago

    Yes, Borrego, cryptopoda and wickensii are synonymous - the latter name is no longer generally accepted.
    Do you have Van Wyk's book? It only covers the South African aloes, so there are some species not listed - but I find it indispensable.

  • greenlarry
    18 years ago

    borrego,I posted it last year and the jury is still out on it,could be marlothii or another species.

  • jeffrey_harris
    18 years ago

    GL,

    I think yours is Aloe peglerae

  • borrego
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I have both marlothii and peglerae........I'm going to chime back in on this later after I go look at my plants.....

  • rpw53
    18 years ago

    Sorry about the synonym, should have checked myself ;~)

    And Larry, I was going to say that your plant still looks like peglerae to me, but my fellow aloephile Jeffrey beat me to the punch!

    Peyton

  • jeffrey_harris
    18 years ago

    Dear Larry,

    We've ID'd that plant twice here as Aloe peglerae. I don't mean to sound unfriendly, but what is it that leads to believe it isn't as we've indicated? It is a juvenile, that's for sure, but it is distinctive.

  • greenlarry
    18 years ago

    peglerae, thats the name, thanks for reminding me Jeffrey.

    So is it 100% confirmed, can I change its name from Aloe x at last? ;)

  • desert_gardener
    18 years ago

    I have plants labeled both cryptopoda and wickensii and Patrick is correct, Van Wyk's book states they are synonymous. I have seen Aloes labeled as wickensii that seem to be a lot larger than my cryptopoda. But what I have labeled as wickensii has yet to flower...can't wait to compare the flowers. Here is a picture of my cryptopoda in bloom. Enjoy!

    {{gwi:465782}}

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