Aloe distans Haw.

Plants of sprawling habit of growth, with stems lying along the ground creeping and rooting, sometimes with numerous offshoots forming dense groups. Stem about 3-4 cm diam., up to 2-3 met. long, the terminal 50 cm ascending and sub-laxly foliate. Leaves erectly spreading, lanceolate, rather fleshy, up to 15 cm long, 7 cm broad; upper surface flat low down to somewhat sub-canaliculate upwards, glaucous-green, occasionally with a few scattered whitish sub-tuberculate spots; lower surface convex, glaucous-green, usually with several sub-tuberculate whitish spots mostly in lower half, with 2-4 spines along the obtuse keel near apex, the apex a spine; margins cartilaginous, armed with golden-yellow deltoid teeth 3-4 mm long, 5-8 mm distant. Inflorescence dichotomously 3-4-branched, about 40-60 cm high, the peduncle flattened and somewhat biconvex low down and up to 25 mm diam.; sterile bracts none below the first branch, those of branches below the racemes dry, thin, many-nerved and broader than long, about 12 mm broad, 9 mm long. Racemes capitate, densely flowered, up to 8 cm long, 10 cm broad, rather corymbose and produced more or less at the same level. Pedicels slender, the lowest 30-40 mm in length. Bracts thin scarious 3-5-nerved, about 8 mm long, 5 mm broad. Perianth about 40 mm long, dull scarlet, cylindric-trigonous, somewhat decurved, enlarging slightly towards the throat; outer segments free but lightly cohering to the inner in the lower half, obscurely 3-nerved, the nerves confluent at apex, apices sub-acute spreading; inner segments free, lemon coloured with an orange keel, the apices spreading, broader and more obtuse than the outer. Genitals very shortly exserted. Ovary green, 8 mm long, 2.5 mm diam.