Aloe comosa Marloth & A.Berger

Plants solitary, with simple stem up to 2 met. high, the old dried leaf remains persistent. Leaves many in a dense rosette, erectly spreading to slightly recurved near apex, lanceolate-ensiform, up to 65 cm long, 12 cm broad near base; upper surface flat to slightly canaliculate, glaucous to somewhat brownish-pinkish, obscurely lineate; lower surface bluish-green, convex; margins with a pinkish edge armed with small brownish-red slightly spreading deltoid teeth about 1-2 mm long, 5-10 mm distant. Inflorescence up to 2-5 met. high (sometimes longer), usually simple, sometimes with a short branch, 3-5 simultaneously from a rosette. Peduncle 1 met. below the raceme, flattened and 5 cm broad near base, 2 cm thick, copiously sterile-bracteate throughout, the lowest sterile bracts pale brown, scarious, up to 45 mm long, 15-20 mm broad, gradually smaller upwards. Racemes narrowly cylindric, 1 met. long, about 8 cm diam. at the middle, densely flowered, the buds dull pink with a bloom, the open flowers sometimes deep pink with a bloom giving the racemes a unicoloured effect, but more frequently the open flowers rosy-cream to pinkish-ivory giving the racemes a bicoloured effect; the buds erect and pressed to the axis by their longer imbricate bracts, the bracts tufted at apex; older buds horizontally disposed, lowest open flowers pendulous and adpressed to the axis in an imbricate manner. Pedicels the lowest 20 mm long, almost erect, severely decurved in upper third. Bracts narrowly lanceolate, long-acuminate, the lowest 40 mm long (twice as long as their pedicels), 3-5-nerved. Perianth mostly pinkish-ivory, 35 mm long, 12 mm diam. at the middle, narrowing to the mouth and tapering into the pedicel, shortly stipitate; outer segments free for two-thirds of their length (tube about 12 mm), rather clearly 3-nerved, apices sub-acute slightly spreading; inner segments themselves free, but dorsally adnate to the outer for 12 mm from base, broader than the outer and with 3 congested nerves forming a green keel, and with more obtuse more spreading apices. Filaments flattened, the 3 inner narrower and lengthening in advance of the 3 outer. Anthers the 3 inner and 3 outer in turn exserted 10 mm Stigma at length exserted 10-12 mm. Ovary 9 mm long, green, finely 6-grooved.