| Menu list goes here |
Herbal Database Search Results
Back
to: Pathways Main Search
Page For Metaphysical uses
visit The Witchs Haven
Aloe vera
| Common name: |
Aloe Vera |
Family: |
Aloeaceae |
| Author: |
(L.)Burm.f. |
Botanical references: |
50, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Aloe vulgaris (Lam.), Aloe barbadensis (Mill.) |
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Europe - Mediterranean. |
| Habitat: |
Maritime sands and rocks[50]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
3 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 5 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| A. barbadense[E]
A. perfoliata var. vera[B,G,P]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Aloe [E,H], Aloe Vera [H,S], Aloes [E], Aloes Des Jardins [E], Alwat [E], Barbados Aloe [H,P,B], Curacoa Aloe [H], Djadam Arab [E], Hsiang Tan [E], Jadam [E], L'Alois [E], Laloi [E], Lidah Buaya [E], Lu Hui [E], Medicinal Aloe [H], Musambra Aloe [H], No Hui [E], Nu Hui [E], Sabila [E], Sarisabir [E], Zabida [E], Zabila [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
vera = true
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Liliales. Aloe family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Amboina
China Curacao Dominican Republic Egypt Germany Guatemala Haiti India Java Malaya Mexico Nepal Panama Trinidad Turkey Us(Fl) Venezuela
|
Physical Characteristics
An evergreen perennial growing to 0.8m by 1m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
We rate it 3/5 for edibility and
5/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It cannot grow in the shade.
It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.
Habitats and Possible Locations
By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.Edible Uses
Leaves
Seed.
Leaves - cooked[105]. Very bitter, they are an emergency food that is
only used when all else fails[177]. A gel in the leaves is sometimes used as
an ingredient of commercial jellies[183].
Seed[105, 183]. An emergency food used when all else fails[177]. It is very
unlikely that the seed will be produced in Britain[238].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Cancer
Emmenagogue Emollient Laxative Miscellany Purgative Skin Stimulant Stomachic Tonic Vermifuge Vulnerary.
Aloe vera is a fairly well known herbal preparation with a long history
of use. It is widely used in modern herbal practice and is often available in
proprietary herbal preparations[K]. It has two distinct types of medicinal
use. The clear gel contained within the leaf makes an excellent treatment for
wounds, burns and other skin disorders, placing a protective coat over the
affected area, speeding up the rate of healing and reducing the risk of
infection[254, K]. This action is in part due to the presence of aloectin B,
which stimulates the immune system[254]. To obtain this gel, the leaves can
be cut in half along their length and the inner pulp rubbed over the affected
area of skin[K]. This has an immediate soothing effect on all sorts of burns
and other skin problems[K].
The second use comes from the yellow sap at the base of the leaf. The leaves
are cut transversally at their base and the liquid that exudes from this cut
is dried[4]. It is called bitter aloes and contains anthraquinones which are
a useful digestive stimulant and a strong laxative[254]. When plants are
grown in pots the anthraquinone content is greatly reduced[254].
The plant is emmenagogue, emollient, laxative, purgative, stimulant,
stomachic, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary[4, 21, 46, 57, 61, 165, 176].
Extracts of the plant have antibacterial activity[218].
Apart from its external use on the skin, aloe vera (usually the bitter
aloes) is also taken internally in the treatment of chronic constipation,
poor appetite, digestive problems etc[238]. It should not be given to
pregnant women or people with haemorrhoids or irritable bowel syndrome[238,
243]. The plant is strongly purgative so great care should be taken over the
dosage[238].
The plant is used to test if there is blood in the faeces[61].
This plant has a folk history of treatment in cases of cancer[218]. We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.
Other Uses
Cosmetic
Pollution.
The leaf extracts are used in skin-care cosmetic products[238, 254].
Plants have been grown indoors in pots in order to help remove toxins from
the atmosphere. It is also unusual in that it continues to release oxygen and
absorb carbon dioxide in the dark, making it very suitable for growing in
bedrooms[259].
Cultivation details
Requires a well-drained soil and a very sunny position[1]. Plants are
tolerant of poor soils[200]. If trying to grow this plant outdoors then it
will need the sunniest and warmest area in the garden plus some protection
from winter cold (a glass frame perhaps)[K].
This species is not very cold-hardy outdoors in Britain, it is best grown in
a pot placed outdoors in the summer and put in a greenhouse for the
winter[1]. It grows very well in a sunny windowsill[K].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring in a warm greenhouse. The seed usually germinates in
1 - 6 months at 16° c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots of very
well-drained soil when they are large enough to handle. Grow them on in a
sunny part of the greenhouse for at least their first two winters. If trying
them outdoors then plant them out in early summer to allow them to become
established before the winter, and give them some protection from the cold in
winter[K].
Division of offsets when available, usually in spring. The plants produce
offsets quite freely and they can be divided at any time of the year as long
as it is warm enough to encourage fresh root growth to allow re-establishment
of the plants[K]. Pot up and grow on in the greenhouse until established.
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
PFAF Web Pages
This plant is mentioned in the following web pages
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Aloe barbadense (a possible synonym).
References for Aloe barbadensis (a possible synonym).
References for Aloe vulgaris (a possible synonym).
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
References for aloe vera (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.
[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.
[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.
[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
[243] Medicinal Plants of Nepal Dept. of Medicinal Plants. Nepal. 1993
Terse details of the medicinal properties of Nepalese plants, including cultivated species and a few imported herbs.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
[259] Wolverton. B. C. Eco-Friendly House Plants. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. London. 1996 ISBN 0-297-83484-3
Excellent guide to pollution in the home and those plants that can help to remove the problem. Most of the plants are not hardy outdoors in the temperate zone, though a number of species can be grown outside.
Readers Comments
Back to: Pathways Home page,
Main Search Page
Help
Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Aloe+vera
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Aloe+vera
|
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if
you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.
|
|
& (c) 2007 
