Species · genus Aloe · Asphodelaceae

Short-leaved Aloe

Aloe brevifolia Mill.

Also known as: Crocodile Aloe · Blue Aloe

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Cape Provinces

Reference · A. brevifolia

Cultivars of A. brevifolia

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. brevifolia yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Aloe brevifolia is a small succulent subshrub from the Cape Provinces of South Africa, built to store water in its fleshy rosettes and endure dry spells. Give it gritty, fast-draining mix and the brightest spot you can, and water deeply only when the soil has gone completely dry through the pot. It rots readily if kept moist, so when in doubt, wait.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

7–27 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Offsets (pups) separated and dried before potting

Fertilizing

Dilute succulent feed once or twice in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Orange-red spikes possible in bright light, uncommon indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Saponins + anthraquinones (the latex) — vomiting, lethargy, diarrhoea. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Short-leaved Aloe yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.