The Aloe Farm in Hartbeespoort donated thousands of endangered Aloe peglerae seedlings to the University of Pretoria (UP) to be reintroduced in the Magaliesberg mountain range.

Richard Hay examining succulents that are about to be planted.

The rare Aloe peglerae (also called the Magaliesberg aloe) only grows on the north-facing slopes of the Magaliesberg and is now being reintroduced on a large scale by UP experts, supported by the Botanical Society of South Africa (BotSoc). This aloe is a slow-growing species and is listed as critically endangered. The university team and volunteers planted 1500 seedlings along the foothills of the Magaliesberg Mountain above Mamelodi recently. Richard Hay, curator of the Future Africa Campus gardens and the Future Africa Indigenous and Orphan Crops Collection of the Manie van der Schijff Botanical Garden (MvdSBG) at UP says the idea is to continuously reintroduce young plants only into areas where the aloe once grew naturally, but no longer occurs.
The idea behind the reintroduction project was sparked through conversations about plant conservation between Hay and owners of the The Aloe Farm, Quinton Bean and Andy de Wet. The Aloe Farm donated over 8 000 seedlings to the UP and BotSoc to be replanted in the Magaliesberg mountain range.
Aloe peglerae was listed as critically endangered after a survey in 2016 found its overall population numbers to have dropped by an estimated 43% within a decade, particularly because of illegal harvesting.
According to botanist Andy de Wet of The Aloe Farm, Aloe peglerae is one of the most common plants plundered by unscrupulous traders. “We at The Aloe Farm are deeply concerned about the loss of elements in our natural habitat. Any disturbance has a more devastating and ripple effect than meets the eye. For example, aloes flower in winter when there is hardly any food for birds and an assortment of insects. In the absence of this essential source of nourishment, your bird and insect population will immediately dwindle, as will the predators that prey on insects,” he said.
Species like Aloe Peglerae do not easily propagate. “If an Aloe Peglerae in the wild becomes 50 years old, it will produce about 150 000 seeds of which only one plant will generally survive that grows to maturity to replace it and maintain the balance in nature. The Aloe Farm is involved in various significant projects in conjunction with organisations like Rotary, WESSA, farmers and the BotSoc to raise seedlings and many thousands have been re-established in their natural habitat.”