Trip of Namaqualand

Giant quiver trees (called Aloe pillansiiuntil they were recently designated a subspecies of Aloe

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dichotoma) are critically endangered. Victims of plant collectors, goats and climate change, these magnificent specimens can be seen in northern Namaqualand and the Richtersveld, in South Africa's far north-western corner. They are distinctly different from their shorter cousins. Did you know? Quiver trees die if they receive too much water. Of the more than 100 aloe species that are found in South Africa, the quiver tree is one of the most spectacular. And this is not so much for its yellow flowers, but rather for its sculptural form and fissured golden bark – the very bark, incidentally, that was used by San (Bushmen) as quivers for their arrows in centuries gone by. There are three species of quiver tree in the country: the more widespread Aloe dichotoma, the shrub-like maiden aloe (Aloe ramosissima) and the critically endangered Aloe pillansii, also called the giant quiver tree, or sometimes the bastard, or false, quiver tree. (Incidentally, in May 2011, pillansii and ramosissima were declared subspecies of Aloe dichotoma.) The giant quiver tree has something approaching cult status, in part because it is classified as critically endangered, but also because its distribution occurs in such a narrow band.