The beautiful and rare Spiral Aloe's habitat is restricted to the high Maluti Mountains of Lesotho. The Spiral Aloe is single stemmed, though it will sometimes grow in very dense groups, with leaves that are perfectly arranged, either clockwise or anti-clockwise. The plant consists of about 5 layers of leaves, each with 15-30 leaves. They do not form offsets so the only means of propagation is from seed. It has become a prized collector's item which could be why its numbers in the wild has diminished. Aloe polyphylla was recently added to the red list of endangered species. Plants have approximately 150 leaves each, which explain the name "polyphylla". "Poly" means "many" and "phylla" is Greek for "leaves". 
The leaves themselves are broad and have a grey-green colour. The tips usually become dark, purplish brown and are quite sharp. The margins are irregularly toothed. The Spiral Aloe has beautiful red to pink flowers that are compacted on the inflorescence during spring and early summer. It is a criminal offence to remove plants or seed of Aloe polyphylla from the natural habitat or to buy plants from roadside vendors.
Worst of all, plants which have been removed from their habitat usually do not survive for more than a few years. You may bid with confidence, as these seeds were not collected from the wild. This rare, endangered aloe is a prime example of ex-situ conservation, where there are more plants in cultivation than in the wild. More about the Aloe genus below. 
Aloes come in a variety of forms. Dwarf Aloes: Aloe aristata, Aloe bowiea, Aloe brevifolia, Aloe humilis, Aloe juvena, Aloe longistyla, Aloe variegata, Aloe rauhii, Aloe descoingsii Single-Stemmed Aloes: Aloe africana, Aloe alooides, Aloe angelica, Aloe comosa, Aloe excelsa, Aloe ferox, Aloe lineata, Aloe littoralis, Aloe marlothii, Aloe pluridens, Aloe pretoriensis, Aloe rupestris, Aloe speciosa, Aloe thraskii, Aloe vryheidensis Tree Aloes: Aloe barberae, Aloe dichotoma, Aloe pillansii, Aloe plicatilis, Aloe ramosissima Multi-Stemmed Aloes: Aloe arborescens, Aloe castanea, Aloe claviflora, Aloe falcata, Aloe hardyi, Aloe mutabilis, Aloe spicata, Aloe succotrina, Aloe vanbalenii Rambling Aloes: Aloe ciliaris, Aloe commixta, Aloe gracilis, Aloe striatula, Aloe tenoir Creeping Aloes: Aloe arenicola, Aloe comptonii, Aloe dabenorisana, Aloe distans, Aloe meyeri, Aloe pearsonii, Aloe perfoliata Stemmless Aloes: Aloe aculeata, Aloe broomii, Aloe buhrii, Aloe chabaudii, Aloe chlorantha, Aloe cryptopoda, Aloe gerstneri, Aloe glauca, Aloe globuligemma, Aloe haemanthifolia, Aloe hereroensis, Aloe krapohliana, Aloe lutescens, Aloe melanacantha, Aloe peglerae, Aloe petricola, Aloe polyphylla, Aloe pratensis, Aloe reitzii, Aloe reynoldsii, Aloe striata, Aloe suprafoliata, Aloe thorncroftii Speckled Aloes: Aloe framesii, Aloe gariepensis, Aloe khamiesensis, Aloe microstigma, Aloe pictifolia Spotted Aloes: Aloe affinis, Aloe branddraaiensis, Aloe burgersfortensis, Aloe dewetii, Aloe dyeri, Aloe fosteri, Aloe grandidentata, Aloe greatheadii, Aloe greenii, Aloe immaculata, Aloe lettyae, Aloe longibracteata, Aloe maculata, Aloe monotropa, Aloe mudenensis, Aloe parvibracteata, Aloe petrophila, Aloe prinslooi, Aloe pruinosa, Aloe simii, Aloe suffulta, Aloe swynnertonii, Aloe umfoloziensis, Aloe verdoorniae, Aloe vogtsii, Aloe zebrina Grass Aloes: Aloe albida, Aloe boylei, Aloe chortolirioides, Aloe cooperi, Aloe dominella, Aloe ecklonis, Aloe fouriei, Aloe hlangapies, Aloe inconspicua, Aloe integra, Aloe kniphofioides, Aloe kraussii, Aloe linearifolia, Aloe micrantha, Aloe minima, Aloe modesta, Aloe myriacantha, Aloe nubigena, Aloe parvifolia, Aloe saundersiae, Aloe soutpansbergensis, Aloe thompsoniae, Aloe verecunda, Aloe vossii Aloes are sometimes confused with Agaves. Contrarily to Agaves, Aloe leaves contain a gel like sap. Another difference is that Aloes don't die after blooming as most Agaves do.
For an extensive list of documented Aloe species please see this Wikipedia page.
