National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004)

Aloe ferox is a long-lived, single stemmed, succulent plant between 2 to 3 m tall, sometimes reaching heights of up to 6 m (Knapp, 2006; Van Wyk and Smith, 1996). The apex of the main stem is dense rosette of large, succulent covered in a leaves that are dull green to blue-green in colour with reddish teeth along the margins (Reynolds, 1950; Boon, 2010; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 2013). The plants rarely branch from above the base, with the growing stems characteristically clothed in a persistent skirt of old, dry leaves that insulate the stem against bush fires (Bond, 1983; Van Wyk and Smith, 1996).

According to harvesters and landowners, the time taken from seed germination to the first harvest of aloe leaves is 3 - 4 years. This is a relatively short period of time, indicating that A. ferox exhibits fairly fast growth compared to plant species such as Encephalartos. There is however a lack of consensus and sufficient empirical information regarding the growth rate of the species. Work done by Holland and Fuggle (1982) indirectly estimated that the age of a mature 5 -6 m individual is 150 years, i.e. an average annual height increment of 3.3 -4 cm. Newton and Vaughan (1996) reported that A. ferox plants of 4 - 6 years are 1 m tall, thus averaging a 16.7 - 25 cm height increment per annum. Shackleton and Gambiza (2007) estimated an annual height increment of 1.7 - 4.6 cm. These differences could be attributed to site conditions such as differences in climate as well as the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Furthermore, these annual increments do not consider differential growth rates during the life of the plant.