Plants usually solitary, with pendent, leafy, succulent rosettes. The stem can be up to 220 mm long, 35–55 mm thick, with grey bark. The roots are grey-brown, 3–4 mm thick. Leaves numerous (up to 25 functional), triangular-lanceolate, 300–470 mm long, 65–85 mm in diameter at base, apex acute, mucronate, in a dense rosette, the latter with leaves drawn together (mitriform) during the dry winter season. The upper surface flat, but becoming channelled in distal half, pale green to grey-green, fading to pinkish green, sparsely white-spotted in basal third, lenticular spots irregularly arranged. The lower surface flat to slightly convex at first, becoming convex and shortly keeled toward apex, copiously white-spotted, with the lenticular spots arranged in obscure white bands. The margin armed with small, deltoid-acuminate, reddish brown teeth 1.0–1.5 mm long, 10–15 mm apart, projecting towards leaf apex and arising from the white leathery (cartilaginous) margin. Inflorescence 1 or 2 per plant, 500–700 mm long, drooping with 2–4 lateral branches in upper half, simple in young plants.

Figure 2. Aloe omavandae on a south-facing sandstone cliff and a close-up of the rosette, on the Omavanda Mountains (northern Namibia).

The racemes 250–300 mm long, the stalk of the inflorescence (scape) rounded on both sides (biconvex), 300–450 mm long, purplish, 10–15 mm in diameter at base, with powdery bloom, flattened at base for 30–70 mm; the flower stalks (pedicels) 8–10 mm long, lengthening to 12–14 mm in fruit. The bracts 12 × 3 mm, ascending, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, whitish, thin, scarious, channelled. The flowers (perianth) orange-red, grey-tipped in bud, cylindrical-trigonous, 23–25 mm long, 5 mm in diameter. Capsule erect, 10–15 × 6–10 mm. Seeds angular, winged, grey-black, 3 × 2 mm. Flowering time is mainly in winter (May–June).

Figure 3. Close-up of the flower head of Aloe omavandae at Omavanda, growing on a south-facing cliff (northern Namibia).