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This section is dedicated toward maintaining one active thread for each Aloaceae species/subspecies/variety/cultivar. Please feel free to add information and/or photos to existing threads or start your own by adding Genus/species as the thread subject. Note that listings are displayed alphabetically. Enjoy!
This is a really dinky spotted Madagascan aloe with thin leaves and (sometimes) whitish or pale green spots. Flowers are very simple with just a few dangling from a very thin peduncle... flowers are pale yellow-orange or pinkish yellow. This has been one of the hardier dinky aloes I have grown, though eventually it, too, succumbed to competition from surrounding vegetation and poor watering practices.
Though not terribly popular as a collector's item, it does seem to be a good one for creating interesting small hybrids and is one of the parents for several popular hybrids/cultivars.
Aloe bakeri mine.jpg (141.45 KiB) Viewed 11761 times
Aloe bakeri new in focus 2-08.JPG (137.72 KiB) Viewed 11761 times
The red, urn-shaped flowers in the last photo aren't Aloe bakeri in shape or color. Until someone shows those flowers emerging from a confirmed A. bakeri plant, I think it's best to disregard them. A. bakeri flowers are yellow to yellow and orange.
Kwie2011 wrote:The red, urn-shaped flowers in the last photo aren't Aloe bakeri in shape or color. Until someone shows those flowers emerging from a confirmed A. bakeri plant, I think it's best to disregard them. A. bakeri flowers are yellow to yellow and orange.
Yes, the colours are more intense than other examples I've seen. However, these stronger coloured flowers only appeared after I moved the plant container to a very sunny and hot position. Here is a more recent photo from last year. The plant is out of focus though. I could take another picture, but it's night time as I write this.
Shane.
Supposed A. bakeri with wasp on the flower - plant growing in very sunny position.
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I have something acquired as Aloe bakeri some 10 years ago, and has since multiplied. I have some old plants that I have growing individually in pots, and some that I've allowed to form the colonies as they do. I never really checked with a critical eye to verify the ID, but in comparing here now, I now have doubts that it's correct. What I do know about mine, is it matures into a very different looking plant than when it's younger. It's one of a very few early on Aloe I got, and always assumed it was what it was supposed to be.
Here's a younger one for now - I'd like to get input on whether this looks like an actual A. bakeri to you all, or something different... and what then? Hybrid?
2017 06 02 Aloe bakeri small a a X800.jpg (240.22 KiB) Viewed 11350 times
This is an A. bakeri I acquired in February from The Institute for Aloe Studies. It is in bloom in June on a south-facing balcony, but this is western Oregon, so it's largely overcast. It already had the deep purple stress coloration when it arrived from California. I expect it will be much greener in this climate.
I've tried to show the stem, leaf attachments, and internodes to help with ID, and I've photographed the flowers against a white background for color balance.
Shane, the second photo looks better to me. Maybe it's the angle of the first photo that gives the flowers a shorter, rounder look (or my phone screen). Curious why the one plant has solid yellow flowers, and the others yellow and orange. Are they all clones?
Yup, I'm convinced. Mine is not bakeri, but probably a hybrid thereof. Yours from IOS - very nice looking plant, and flowers, and nearly 99% sure you have the real deal.
Kwie2011 wrote:Shane, the second photo looks better to me. Maybe it's the angle of the first photo that gives the flowers a shorter, rounder look (or my phone screen). Curious why the one plant has solid yellow flowers, and the others yellow and orange. Are they all clones?
The solid yellow flowers which are yet to open are how they look early on. As they progress and open, they get the stronger colours, provided they are growing on the sunny side of the house. When I had the container in the shade, the flowers were more pale in colour.
Here is a photo of my plant today:
Shane.
Bakeri?
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According the the description in Aloes of Madagascar, this plant was recently wiped out due to construction (last 10 years or so). However, they also say it is one of the most common species in cultivation thanks to its aggressive growing habit and usefulness in making hybrid species. Potted plants can quickly grow into 100 rosettes in same pot. Flowers in both this book and Lavranos book (Aloes, the Definitive Guide) match the photos above.
