Aloe capitata
A Madagascan highland aloe, named for its dense, rounded (capitate) head of flowers. It grows on rocky outcrops and inselbergs of the central plateau, from Ankazobe and Anjozorobe near Antananarivo south to Antsirabe, Ibity and Ambositra. Four varieties are recognised: capitata, angavoana, quartziticola and silvicola. It is a sun-loving rock plant from a mild upland climate with a wet summer and a cool, dry winter, and it is best grown bright, in a gritty mix, and dry and cool in winter.
Where it grows wild
It grows on exposed granite, gneiss and quartzite outcrops and inselbergs in the Malagasy highland grassland, in shallow pockets of soil among the rocks. Var. quartziticola is associated with quartzite, as on the Ibity massif, and var. silvicola, as its name suggests, with forest margins.
Herbarium specimens range from about 1365 to 1700 m, on the Ankazobe inselbergs, Anjozorobe and Ibity. Observations near Antsirabe and Ambositra are also on the high plateau.
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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.