Aloe vera

[Gee.S]

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[Geoff]

This is probably the most common aloe grown in cultivation, though Aloe maculata is giving it a run for the money. Many of the plants grown as Aloe vera are actually either a hybrid or a very closely related species, however... all small, thin-leaved, aggressively suckering, spotted plants are suspect, and any that produce orange flowers as well. The true Aloe vera plant is a solitary to slowly suckering, unspotted (mostly), pale-leaved large plant (up to 2.5' tall) with yellow flowers. It is also a sterile plant and does not produce fertile seed... the only way this plant is propagated is through division. It is not one of the more ornamental plant, but grown primarily because it is common, cheap, hardy (though not particularly cold hardy) and has a gazillion medicinal uses (though most uses are suspect in terms of actual effectiveness). It does have very nice looking flowers, but the plant's pale leaves and rather common look and shape keep it from being heavily grown and collected by those with particular interests in Aloes.

Interestingly it is unclear where this species is from. Some put in near or in the Canary Islands, but no one knows for sure. It is likely the northernmost of all the aloe species. The name Aloe barbadensis was assigned this plant for a while, but Aloe vera is actually a good species name, and came first, so that is its official scientific name.

Another name for this plant is Medicinal Aloe, and the uses it has in medicine, holistic practices and nutrition are astounding, though there is very little evidence of effectiveness for most of the claims made about this plant. It has been shown to improve some skin maladies, and it definitely has a potent chemical that effectively causes diarrhea (alointin)- in fact, it is this chemical that puts this plant on some toxic plant lists, though true toxicity is not too dangerous. For most uses, the outer leaf layers are removed (hence removing the alointin), leaving just a dense gel that has all the claimed magical properties aloe vera is known for.

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[Jkwinston]

LA Arboretum

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[Geoff]

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[Geoff]

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[MSX]

First bloom

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[Paul S]

What a beautiful moggy! Can I point out that Aloe vera sap can be toxic to cats. Have a read.

[MSX]

What a beautiful moggy! Can I point out that Aloe vera sap can be toxic to cats. Have a read.

Oh thanks a lot for pointing that out! She just loves hanging around the pot with aloe, another succulent fan here, I'll have to think what to do with that!

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[Paul S]

She! That's rare, a ginger female. The colour of her eyes!

[RCDS66]

Finally, my Aloe vera bloomed.....

[RCDS66]

This is the first time my Aloe vera has produced seed pods. They bloomed every year but never produced any seeds

Just a few pods.... but enough. Though Aloe vera produces sufficient offsets and one doesn't need to grow them from seeds but it might be interesting to see if the seeds are potent or may be it is a natural hybrid. Many other aloes were also blooming at the same time.

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