Aloes bellatula

Aloe bellatula is a small Aloaceae endemic to the Fianarantsoa region of the Madagascar highlands, where it grows on granite rock outcrops at around 1500 m elevation. This stemless succulent forms dense clumps of narrow, upright leaves, vivid green often tinged reddish-brown in strong sun, marked with small white spots and edged with fine soft teeth. In winter it produces slender flower stalks up to 60 cm tall bearing coral-red, pale-tipped tubular flowers. Critically endangered in the wild but easy in cultivation, it requires very free-draining soil, full sun, and sparing watering, in keeping with its rocky native habitat.