Rubble Aloe

Aloe perfoliata

Scientific name

This species is the most widespread of a group of closely related "Creeping Aloes" (Mitriformes). In their natural habitat, these aloes have long, prostrate, branching stems of up to 2 meters. Instead of growing upright, they tend to sprawl along the ground and over rocks. While most of the plant lies along the ground, the terminal leaf-bearing head is often erect, facing upwards to the sun. The leaf margins are armed with harmless, little white teeth.

Aloe perfoliata is indigenous to the Western Cape and some adjacent areas in the Northern and Eastern Cape of South Africa. Here it typically occurs in mountainous rocky Fynbos, overflowing into neighboring Karoo and Albany Thicket vegetation.