Aloe rouxii was named in honour of Mr John Roux from Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2016 in the German succulent magazine, Avonia. This little grass aloe was first brought to the author’s attention by Mr John Roux on 25 April 1976, when he accompanied me to his uncle’s farm, northeast of Barberton, where he showed me the little aloe in habitat. Mr John Roux at the time, was farming with cattle and game on Kondowe Farm in the Limpopo Province. In 1976, the author was working at the Lowveld National Botanical Garden in Nelspruit (Mpumalanga) where a few plants were gathered and grown. However, the plants did not react well to the hot, low-lying, Lowveld climate and eventually died. In 1999, Mr Roux brought me plants in flower which I immediately took to Mrs Vicki Thomas, botanical artist, who prepared the illustration (see below). I also drew up a tentative description, but was at first hesitant to formerly publish it, because of the uncertainty of its status.

Aloe rouxii belongs to a group of aloes known as Leptoaloe. These small aloes usually grow in grassland and are adapted to sporadic fires (Reynolds 1974; Craib 2005). The older leaves usually form a thick layer around its stems, which acts as an insulator against excessive heat or winter cold. Grass aloes when not in flower, are difficult to spot, as they blend into their background. Also plants of this group usually have fleshy roots which also store water during the dry winter months.

Aloe rouxii (within the Leptoaloe), is related to A. chortolirioides var. chortolirioides, A. chortolirioides var. woolliana and A. dominella and but is distinguished from them by its bright green, very narrow, channelled leaves, 1.5 mm in diameter, bearing small translucent teeth, and its short perianth 12–14 mm long and bright yellow flowers.