The striking deer-horn cactus, or candelabra aloe, is putting on an impressive display in the Arid House.
The genus Aloe is distributed throughout southern Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula. Aloe arborescens occurs in Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is impressive in flower when the slender, cylindrical racemes of green-tipped flowers erupt from the fleshy, toothed foliage. This species can reach 4m in height, and enjoys free draining soils and the protection of a cool glasshouse. This species is architectural in form, providing year-round interest, but it comes to the fore when in flower.