Plant simple or suckering from below ground level, with a short rather slender stem about 5 cm long and 8 mm in diam. Roots thick, fleshy, cylindrical to fusiform. Leaves somewhat fleshy, about 7, usually more in cultivation, distichous at first soon becoming rosulate, clasping at the base and about 2-5 cm broad, abruptly narrowing above into the more or less linear blade which is about 25 cm long, 1 cm broad, 3.5 mm thick near the base and tapering almost imperceptibly to the broadly cuneate to subrounded apex; upper surface concave, very sparsely and obscurely white-spotted; lower surface convex, copiously spotted especially near the base, with smooth or slightly raised white spots; margins incurved with a narrow translucent cartilaginous edge, armed to about the middle, or sparsely beyond, with minute translucent deltoid teeth, 0.5 mm long and 3-4 mm apart. Inflorescence simple, 18-20 cm high. Peduncle slender, 3-4 mm diam., terete, slightly flattened below, bearing 4-6 sterile bracts; bracts scarious with several reddish veins. Raceme subcapitate, laxly 8-or more-flowered; floral bracts scarious, red-veined, about 1.7 cm long, 5 mm wide at the base, broadening to 10 mm above the middle, thence deltoid-acuminate to an acute apex. Pedicels about 2-5 cm long, apricot-orange. Perianth apricot-orange (R.C.S. scarlet); tube cylindric, trigonous about 2.7 cm long shallowly 3-saccate at the 7 mm broad base, narrowing gradually towards the apex; segments free to the base, the outer concave or saccate at the base and from there canaliculate, the inner similar but narrower in lower half; apices recurved, pale orange to yellowish with a green keel. Stamens included, eventually slightly exserted; filaments whitish, 2.2 cm long; anthers brownish, 3 mm long. Ovary pale yellowish-green, about 7 mm long; style whitish, about 2 cm long, eventually exserted. Capsule up to 2 cm long, greenish.
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Short-stemmed grass aloe 200-300 mm tall, solitary or suckering; prostrate to pendent. Leaves ±7, distichous at first, becoming rosulate, lorate, 110-300 x 6-12 mm, canaliculate, margins minutely denticulate below middle. Inflorescence a subcapitate raceme; peduncle 160-240 mm long, with few sterile bracts; bracts ovate-acute, 10-17 x 5-6 mm, veins obscure. Flowers orange, 19-27 mm long, cylindric; pedicels 11-25 mm long; segments free to base. Anthers included. Ovary 3.5-7.0 x 1.5-2.0 mm, yellowish green; style included. Fruit ±25 x 9 mm, buff to grey. Seeds charcoal-grey, ±4 x 2 x 1 mm, not winged.
Caulescent, succulent herb, up to 300 mm tall. Leaves not fibrous, margins usually minutely dentate, ± 7, distichous at first, becoming rosulate, 110-300 x 6-12 mm. Raceme subcapitate. Flowers orange.
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