I could be wrong, but knowing Kelly Griffin has been at it for a long time and his hybrid work typically undisclosed complex hybrids, I would doubt that it's a simple cross involving castilloniae and another species like glauca. Yes, castilloniae would have been a primary component of whatever combination of crosses were involved and however many generations. At the least, I would expect an F2 selection, but even that would be relatively simple, much like Karen Zimmerman's creation of 'Dragon' and 'Princess Jack' achieved by crossing two select seedlings (clones) of divaricata x parvula [(Aloe divaricata x Aloe parvula clone 1) x (Aloe divaricata x Aloe parvula clone 2)]. Similarly, inasmuch as 'Dragon' and 'Princess Jack' are siblings, so are Aloe 'Blue Castilloniae Hybrid' and Aloe 'Wilfire', two select clones that were TC'd.
They are very similar, and easily confused, but distinct enough from each other and apparently deemed worthy enough to be TC'd as separate clones.
Here is 'Blue Castilloniae Hybrid', an overview and a close up
- 2020 08 11 Aloe Blue Castilloniae a.jpg (204.32 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
- 2020 08 11 Aloe Blue Castilloniae b.jpg (122.87 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
And 'Wildfire'
- 2020 08 11 Aloe Wildfire a.jpg (248.66 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
- 2020 08 11 Aloe Wildfire b.jpg (152.51 KiB) Viewed 2860 times
'Wildfire' has a greater tubercle density than 'Blue Castilloniae Hybrid' and can develop a bronze tint to it with enough sun. 'Blue Castilloniae Hybrid' if you look at the closeup can have bifurcated teeth at the base of the leaf, which 'Wildfire' doesn't have. Otherwise, they are two very similar siblings.
