Aloe cryptopoda produces brilliant red and yellow flower buds that open to reveal yellow flowers from short-stemmed plants with narrow succulent leaves. The species is widespread across much of southern Africa, but this particular color form is sometimes named Aloe wickensii, after the South African farmer who discovered it in 1914. Tough and durable, this plant requires full sun and arid conditions to produce the best flowering displays.

The species name cryptopoda means "hidden foot," referring to the flower stalks, which are hidden by the leafy bracts. Like many other aloes, this species is pollinated by sunbirds. In Africa, sunbirds fill an ecological niche equivalent to that filled by the hummingbirds in North and South America. This plant was discovered on the banks of the Zambezi River in Mozambique.