Aloe massawana

Aloe massawana Reynolds

Aloe kirkii

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Asparagales	A diverse group that includes asparagus
Family	Xanthorrhoeaceae	Aloes, many tropical plants, flax lilies, daylilies, many others
Genus	Aloe	Means “goddess” in ancient Sanskrit, for its reputed use as a beauty aid; some sources suggest that the name comes from Alloeh, meaning “shining bitter substance”
Species	massawana

About plant names...

These originate from Eritrea (Ethiopia), near sea level. The species, massawana, derives from an old locality name, Massawa, in Eritrea.

Identification: Most online sources describe bright red flowers. Leaves occur in rosettes as with other aloes and are green to gray-green, with thorny edges. I was able to find very little information about these.

See the Aloe comparison table.

Online References:

Aloe massawana on Forest and Kim Starr’s Starr Environmental site

Aloe massawana on ZipcodeZoo.com

Aloe massawana on ARKive: Images of Life on Earth

Aloe massawana on Wikimedia Commons

Aloe massawana on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species

Aloe massawana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 12 Oct 2018.

2/26/2010 · San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA
≈ 33 × 40" (82 × 100 cm)

Range: Zones 9b-11:

About this map...