Aloe ciliaris var tidmarshii- 2ga

Aloe ciliaris var. tidmarshii is a slender, scrambling aloe from South Africa’s Eastern Cape that grows as a semi-woody climber with flexible stems 6 to 10 feet long, leaning on surrounding vegetation for support and producing narrow, soft green leaves with the distinctive ciliated leaf bases that define the Aloe ciliaris group. It remains evergreen in mild climates and is smaller and more delicate than the typical variety, with shorter leaves, fewer cilia, and a more rambling habit. The plant blooms for much of the year, with peak flowering in spring, producing unbranched 6- to 12-inch inflorescences bearing downward-facing orange-red tubular flowers tipped with yellow; the lax cylindrical racemes and darker buds distinguish it from other varieties, and the flowers attract birds and insects. Native to warm, frost-free slopes near Uitenhage and Grahamstown, it was first described in 1903 from material sent by Edwin Tidmarsh, later elevated and then reduced again to varietal rank; taxon