Originally named for Massawana, Eritrea, this plant is actually from near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and has a controversial taxonomy. This was in part resolved with the creation of A. eumassawana to account for the Eritrean plants. The plant is very similar in ecology and form to other species, including Aloe vera from southern Oman and Aloe officionalis from western Yemen; it may well be a hybrid related to Arab trading along the east coast of Africa. The plants have medium rosettes and offset prolifically. The leaves are a light green, unlike the gray-green color of Aloe vera, and the flowers are held in a loose inflorescence of red flowers, not a tightly appressed inflorescence of yellow flowers as in A. vera. The plants seem able to withstand moderate frost, perhaps to 25F. These plants are rooted offsets in one-gallon pots.
