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A tiny seedling plant of this recently named Aloe species on steep mossy upper slopes of Mount Ribaue, about 1500 m.a.s.
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The recently named Aloe ribauensis from Nampula province in Mozambique. Racemes are decurved and bottle-brush like (like in A. decurva, however with 3-5 racemes per inflorescence rather than one). The plants grow on the border of bamboo forest.
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About 1100 m.a.s. This is the normal habitat for this species: steep rocky mountain slopes with short grasses. On Monte Ribaue, about 1200 m.a.s., Northern Mozambique.
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A recently described Aloe species from Mount Ribaue (about 1050 m.a.s., Nampula province in Northern Mozambique. Note the decurved raceme. Very different from Aloe decurva, though.
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A more vigorous plant, growing in a deep crack in the rocks, with longer and more branched racemes. Now I see that the leaves become reddish in drier locations, just like as A. mawii and A. decurva.
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Plants have short bottle-brush type racemes that curve downwards (like in Aloe decurva), but individual flowers are more like those of Aloe mawii (dark purple filaments and pedicels with swollen upper part). Flower bracts are much longer than any of these species, however. The ecology is very peculiar for Aloe: undeep soils on rocky slopes with almost permanently water trickling down. A very wet place for Aloe ! 1000 m.a.s., in open vegetation, close to wild african bamboo forest.
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A recently described Aloe species from Nampula province in Mozambique. Some similarities with Aloe decurva from Mount Zembe. However, this unidentified species is a branched shrub with a branched inflorescence. It grows in shallow soil pockets in areas with high rainfall.
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The natural habitat of this recently described Aloe species is very variable. Here it enjoys some protection from fire in the border of an Afromontane forest, on Mount Ribaue, northern Mozambique, about 1500 m.a.s.
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Muidumbe district in Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique.
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Aloe ribauensis has a branched inflorescence unlike the un-branched inflorescence of Aloe decurva. The other difference is that it has a long stem. A recently described species from northern Mozambique.
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The recently named Aloe species from Ribaue flowering against Pemba's blue sky.
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The population from Muidumbe district, Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique.
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Note that the many of the old leaves remain on the plants, especially when not affected by fire. The humid Afromontane forest (seen behind the Aloe plants in the picture) gives some protection against fire. Here on Mount Ribaue, about 1450 m.a.s. The leaves are sheathing (in contrast with species like Aloe mawii) and this character is linked with the character of persisting old leaf remains.
