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BewilderedGreenyO.o
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Difference Between Two Types of Aloe?

Aloe zebrina and Aloe saponaria

What is the main difference in appearance between those two Aloe?

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lorax
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Zebrina is a little bit smaller than Saponaria, and the spotting on the leaves tends towards a distinct zig-zag pattern, where Saponaria would normally show more random placement of spots although in a zig-zag tendency.

If you've got flowers, the answer is definite and easy - Zebrina flowers are borne on a conical rachis, and Saponaria flowers on a rachis with a flat top.

Saponaria also has a more upright leaf habit than Zebrina.

And finally, Aloe zebrina is an endangered plant, protected under CITES II, and Aloe saponaria isn't. There's a whole lot of Saponaria out there being passed off as Zebrina because the two are fairly similar.

Why do you ask?

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BewilderedGreenyO.o
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Wow! Thank You for all the info on that Lorax! :D

I ask because.. my brother (again) lol has one of them in his back yard.. I however didn't get a photo of it.. but I did take a cutting though I'm sure it won't help to have a photo of a small cutting to I.D. it right? I can work on getting a photo of the full plant but was really just wanting to know which one is being grown in his back yard.

here is a photo of the cutting I took. I actually have the cutting in some catus soil in my back yard lol hoping that it will decide to take root. Though I'm not even sure if that is possible with these plants I thought I'd give it a go :)

[img]https://i618.photobucket.com/albums/tt261/NySnap/Plants/P1010538.jpg[/img]

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lorax
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I've never had that work with Aloes,sad to say - the leaves don't have an terminal node on them, so growth doesn't start.

I should think, however, that if it was growing in your brother's yard (ie out in the open, which the red spines would seem to bear out) that there would be pups aplenty around the mother plant - heck, I have an Aloe africana in a pot that pups frequently! The best way to get your own would be to take one of these pups.

I'd want to see the whole plant before pinning an ID on it, but my knee-jerk reaction on seeing the leaf is Aloe saponaria.



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