Aloe ballyi

Not to be confused with Aloe ballii.

Aloe ballyi
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Asphodelaceae
Subfamily:	Asphodeloideae
Genus:	Aloe
Species:	A. ballyi
Binomial name
Aloe ballyi Reynolds [3]

Aloe ballyi (the "rat aloe") is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae, native to Kenya and Tanzania.

Description

This species of Aloe forms tall, slender stems of up to 6 meters. The leaves are long, slender, and mostly straight - only recurving slightly towards the tips. Dead leaves do not long remain on the stem, unlike in the case of most aloes. Unlike most aloes, the "rat aloe" is poisonous. ^[4]

The flowers are only mildly tubular, with their segments united for 1/3 of their length.

Distribution

Small plant

It is native to the Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania. This rare aloe grows in the bush with acacias and succulents. ^[1]

References

1. Eastern Arc Mountains & Coastal Forests CEPF Plant Assessment Project Participants (2009). "Aloe ballyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2009: e.T30901A9584477. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T30901A9584477.en . Retrieved 14 November 2021.
2. "Aloe ballyi Reynolds". Species+ . UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre . Retrieved 8 August 2025.
3. "Aloe ballyi". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 2015-09-10.
4. "Plant story - a rare tree from Kenya, Aloe ballyi, has been saved by Millennium Seed Bank partners | Kew". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-25.