The small 15 cm (6") rosettes of this distinctive cultivar have slender, light-green leaves and form a mounding colony. The inflorescences are stout from such diminutive plants and bear relatively large reddish buds opening creamy yellow. Received from Umlaas Aloe Nursery in 1973, this Cynthia Giddy selection is said to be an Aloe bakeri hybrid. The pollen parent is unknown but, given the robust, bicolored inflorescence, may be A. cryptopoda. The name looks Afrikaans but appears not to be composed of common word roots. The implication though is that it is a term of endearment for a “dinky thing” in reference to it dwarf stature in comparison to its relatively large flowers. Plants from tissue culture of HBG 32505, $7.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 87 (3), May - June, 2015