342 
FLORA AND SYLVA 
spotted. They form the class to which 
the name of saponarice has been given, 
Aloe sapo?iat^ia being the best-known 
of them. This plant varies so much that 
one might gather many forms so differ- 
ent that anyone might take them for 
distinct species. If grown on barren soil, 
or in rocky places with little moisture, 
the leaves are hard and tough, remaining 
shortand brown, with their edges rolled 
inwards ; under better conditions the 
leaves are longer and less rolled in, 
whilst in shady places they become 
long, flat, and pale green with darker 
lines. Aloe sapona?^ia produces a vast 
quantity of suckers spreading into large 
patches, and is so easily propagated as 
to be common in gardens. Aloe latifolia 
is a mere form of this species, with larger 
leaves and flowers. But the finest of this 
group is certainly the old Aloe striata^ 
perhaps best known in gardens as Aloe 
Hanburyana — so called byM. Naudin 
in honour of the late Daniel Hanbury, 
the famous British pharmacologist. Its 
coral-red flowers come out in clusters, 
grouped together as a large spreading 
head borne on a stout, erect stem. The 
leaves are spineless, with only a broad, 
horny border around the edges, often 
of a fine reddish tint. Between this and 
other Aloes, there are many hybrids 
in which the leaves bear prickly margins, 
but none are so pretty as the real plant. 
The group sapojzarice comprises about 
25 species, all well worth cultivation. 
Aloe Baumii^ a very fine plant of this 
group, has lately been figured in the 
Bota7iical Magazi?ie (t. 7948) ; it has 
beautifully spotted leaves. 
Among the larger-growing kinds are 
many in which the leaves are finely 
marked. A good example is the old 
Aloe abyssinica^ now more often met 
with, since its reintroduction by the 
famous traveller Schweinfurth. It oc- 
curs in many varieties, in some of which 
the leaves are wholly green. Before pass- 
ing to the tree-like Aloes let us mention 
those with thin and delicate stems, such 
as Aloe mitriformis and its many vari- 
eties, with stems several yards long trail- 
ing over rocks and walls, and long aerial 
roots just like some of the Aroides. 
The flowers show at the tips of the 
stems on long peduncles, and are so 
closely grouped and drooping as to form 
a kind of mitre. In some of the vari- 
eties this mitre is not formed,the racemes 
being longer and fuller. More graceful 
than mitriformis is Aloe ciliaris from 
eastern Cape Colony. Its stems may be 
as stout as the finger or no thicker than 
a pencil, with thin, remote, and finely- 
toothed leaves, and indeed unlike an 
Aloe until it flowers. It may be seen 
creeping among shrubs and is useful to 
cover old walls and bare corners, grow- 
ing as freely in the shade as in the sun, 
but with a preference for fresh soil on 
account of its thinner leaves. From the 
beginning of December to nearly June 
it is constantly in beauty, and in mid- 
winter is one mass of short erect spikes 
of coral-red. 
Among taller Aloes which, when old, 
make large bushes or little trees. Aloe 
arborescens is most commonly met with. 
It is a fine plant, found half-wild in 
several places near Monaco and Nice. 
Its native country is uncertain, all we 
know is that it came "from the Cape," 
and certainly from a high elevation, 
since it resists the severest winters in 
