CACTUS ISLAND AFRICA - AMERICA - MADAGASCAR AFRICA’S CACTUS ISLAND The genus Aeonium spp. It is mainly known for a specific species, Aeonium arboreum. It is the species that is most cultivated from the ornamental vision of the plant. Still, this genus consists of almost 100 species, of which just under half are indigenous to the Canary Islands. Of course, we can consider the genus Aeonium as ours. It can be found throughout the Mediterranean basin and island areas such as Sardinia or Sicily and even in areas such as Morocco or East Africa. It has a bushy bearing with branched stems and with the formation of dense rosettes AEONIUM ARBOREUM composed of fleshy leaves, a characteristic that identifies succulent plants. Depending on the species and the variety, the color variations in its leaves range from green to almost black and bright satin purple with a special appeal. Some varieties of the genus such as Aeonium arboreum can measure up to 1 meter or even more and their very long inflorescences with yellow flowers are very characteristic. It is striking and of an unmatched contrast, the yellow inflorescences with the purple rosettes. An additional advantage of this plant is that the flowers last a long time on the plant, providing added aesthetic value. In some varieties, when sun grown outdoors, the direct incidence of the sun causes an accentuation of the purple hues achieving a gradient from green to purples from the heart of the rosette to the tip of the leaf of high ornamental value (main photo) . AEONIUM ATROPURPUREUM Single stem species, with leaves arranged in a rosette between 0.60 to 1 meter high and 30 cm (- 100) wide. The leaves are long and fairly wide at the base (about 12 cm), green in color, curved inward and rounded, although with age they open. The margins are scalloped by reddish-brown triangular spines. A distinctive feature of the leaf is the presence of numerous spines on the outer surface. Young plants emit a single inflorescence on a 1m stem; with age it is usually divided into three or four branches. Each cluster is long and narrow, and gradually decreases towards the apex. The flowers (4 cm in length) are tubular and sloping downward, which distinguishes it from other ALOE ACULEATA South African species. Some specimens are single color while others are bicolour. They vary from red to orange, or from red to yellow. It flourishes (in the northern hemisphere). This species is easily identifiable by the unique spines that appear on the external face of the leaves in the form of a white protuberance. When not in flower, it can be confused with Aloe peglerae, however, it differs from this in the presence of spines on both leaf faces, an exclusive characteristic of A. peglerae. Its natural habitat is areas of South Africa. Aloe aculeata can be found in various areas of the Limpopo Province and in the extreme north of Mpumalanga and extends throughout Zimbabwe. It grows in rocky areas, open scrub and grasslands. Aloe brevifolia, is a species of the Aloe genus belonging to the Xanthorrhoeaceae family. It is native to South Africa. It is an evergreen plant with succulent leaves found in heavy clay soils in the winter rain zone, in the Western Cape Province, which can measure up to 15 cm in height, although the flower stems can reach 40 to 50 cm high. The surrounding vegetation is the fynbos. It occurs in dense groups of rosettes with small glaucous leaves and blue deltoids (although their coloration may vary according to the levels of insolation, reaching brown), with different cartilaginous teeth and spines on the surface of the midline, which which ALOE BREVIFOLIA distinguishes this species from all others in southern Africa. Aloe brevifolia is becoming increasingly popular as an ornamental plant for pots and rock gardens. In their cultivation they must be planted in a sufficiently sunny place, in well- drained soil. Only moderate watering is required and should not be kept constantly moist. It must be remembered that it adapts to the Mediterranean climate of the Western Cape Province, with its winter rain regime. They can be easily propagated by simply removing the suction cups and replanting the branch. He has won the Royal Horticultural Society's Garden Merit Award. Aloe congolensis (Congo Aloe) is a small aggressive agglomerating aloe 15-20 cm tall that forms tight 12 cm wide rosettes with short shiny green wedge-shaped leaves with slightly straight tips and sharp teeth. The stems are found along the ground up to 60 cm long and the eaves are often kept along the entire stem, although they eventually detach. Leaves: short, stiff, bright glossy green, almost plastic-like, wedge-shaped, and somewhat flat to recurring near the tips. The leaves take on a reddish brown tint when drought or cold are stressed. The blades are heavily armed with large, sharp teeth the same color as the blades. Flowers In late fall and early winter, an unbranched inflorescence 30 cm or more in height appears with pinkish red or reddish orange flowers in late fall and mid winter. It seems like it takes years for the plant to mature enough to reach flowering size. Taxonomic Notes: The name Aloe congolensis is not a verified name of the species, but it is a very common plant, often seen in garden centers and has long been cultivated and passed on under this name, which was first used by From Wildeman and T. Durand in ALOE CONGOLENSIS 1899. but this name is often noted as "imperfectly known or dubious" as Gilbert Reynolds does in "Aloes of Tropical Africa and Madagascar". Aloe dichotoma is one of the best known and at the same time least known caudex plants in the world. Yes, yes, it is very popular among collectors, but it is difficult to see in nurseries, especially in non-specialized ones. Despite being a rarity for many, its cultivation and maintenance is actually very simple; so if you get a copy, you only have to take into account the advice that I am going to offer you here, in the file of this wonderful species. Aloe dichotoma is one of the best known and at the same time least known caudex plants in the world. Despite being a rarity for many, its cultivation and maintenance is actually very simple; so if you get a copy, you only have to take into account the advice that I am going to offer you here, in the file of this wonderful species. The flowers sprout during the summer in the adult specimens, and are distributed in inflorescences whose appearance is reminiscent of that of the spike. If we talk about its care, it behaves like a relatively easy plant to maintain. In fact, you just have to locate it in an area where it gives you direct sunlight throughout the day and plant it in a pot with a substrate that has excellent drainage, such as the pomice or the washed river sand. I totally discourage substrates like peat, since it is very difficult for them to take root. ALOE DICHOTOMA Irrigation has to be very little: every 10 days in summer and every 20-25 days the rest of the year. In order to have an optimal development, it will be necessary to fertilize it with liquid fertilizer for cacti and other succulents following the instructions specified on the product packaging, or with Blue Nitrofoska. Finally, it is interesting as well as important to say that, although it is of tropical origin, it is able to withstand mild and occasional frosts of up to -2ºC. Aloe ferox, commonly called fierce aloe or Cape aloe, is a species of the aloe genus native to Africa, especially from the regions of South Africa. It is a slow growing tree species. It has a single stem that reaches 2-3 meters in height. The leaves are arranged in a rosette around the stem, are succulent, lanceolate and can grow to be 1 m by 1 cm wide. Glaucous green in color, they have reddish spines along the margins and sometimes also on both sides. The flowers emerge from the axils of the upper leaves, grouped into dense, long, yellow, orange or red candelabra-shaped inflorescences with brown spots on the inner lobes. Flowering occurs from May to August, or somewhat later in cold climates. It has a wide distribution, stretching 1,000 kilometers from the southern Western Cape to the southern KwaZulu-Natal. It is also found in the south eastern area of the Free State and in southern Lesotho. It grows in a great diversity of habitats as a result of its wide distribution. It is common on the slopes of ALOE FEROX rocky hills. To the southwest of the Cape it grows in fynbo grasslands and in the south and the Eastern Cape on the banks of the Karoo. It is found both on plains and in scrub areas. Due to the diversity of habitats and growing conditions, plants can physically differ from one area to another.2 It is a species native to the northeast of South Africa, specifically from the Mpumalanga province (former Transvaal region), where we can find it mainly among bushes, on stony slopes covered with grass, on sandstone or quartzite patches. It is a succulent plant without a stem with fleshy green leaves and a lanceolate shape, which grow in the form of a rosette and have fine brown lines at the top, parallel to the axis of the leaf, which either exist or are barely seen at the bottom, and with a narrow row of sharp reddish-brown teeth (5-8 mm) along the entire edge.