Aloe maculata subsp. maculata

Plants varying from acaulescent, suckering freely and forming dense groups, to solitary, with stem 50 cm high. Leaves 12-20, densely rosulate, narrowly to broadly lanceolate, up to 25-30 cm long, 8-12 cm broad, erectly spreading to slightly recurved near the dried and twisted apex; upper surface flat to slightly canaliculate, paler to darker green, with numerous dull white oblong spots, arranged more or less in irregular broken wavy transverse bands; lower surface convex, usually paler green than the upper, somewhat lineate and usually not spotted; margins sinuate-dentate armed with horny brown deltoid pungent teeth 3-5 mm long, about 10 mm, distant. Inflorescence a dichotomously branched panicle, about 40-60 cm high in smaller suckering plants, up to 1 met. in robust solitary specimens, one or two simultaneously or consecutively, branched about the middle with 4-8 racemes. Racemes about 30-flowered, densely capitate-corymbose, up to 10-12 cm long, 12-16 cm diam. (usually slightly broader than long), the youngest buds erect, open flowers cernuous to pendulous. Bracts deltoid-acuminate, thin dry white many-nerved, about one-third to one-half the length of the lowest pedicels. Pedicels lowest 35-45 mm long, reaching 50-75 mm in the fruit. Perianth 35-45 mm long, with a sub-globose basal swelling up to 10 mm diam., constricted above the ovary to about 6 mm diam., thence slightly decurved and enlarging towards the throat, with the mouth usually wide open; outer segments free for 10-15 mm, obscurely nerved, the apices sub-acute, spreading to recurved; inner segments themselves free but cohering dorsally to the outer for their greater length, broader than the outer and with more obtuse spreading apices, the margins usually with a white 1 mm wide border. Filaments flattened, the 3 inner narrower and lengthening in advance of the 3 outer. Anthers the 3 inner and 3 outer in turn exserted 1-3 mm Stigma at length exserted up to 5 mm and remaining exserted after the filaments dry and contract within the perianth. Ovary 10 mm long, 3 mm diam., finely 6-grooved, light green. Capsule 3-4 cm, long, roundly trigonous. Flowering time Varies considerably from June-July to December-January. The Peninsula form appears to flower mostly in December and January, while plants near East London, Komgha, Butterworth and Idutywa also flower then. The maximum flowering time is June and July in the Eastern Province, Transkei and Natal; August and September further inland (Queenstown, Cala, Paulpietersburg, Piet Retief).