Specier and cares

 Spececies

“Among the more than 300 aloe varieties, the aloe vera (barabadensis miller)”, is the one that posses the biggest recognition regarding its healing properties.”

How is it?

“The Aloe Vera is not a cactus. It belongs to the Liliaceae family, like the onion and garlic, the turnip, the asparagus, or the tulip.”

The root is knotty, and the stalk short.

The leafs, succulent, and triangular, are arranged forming a rosette.

They are of some grey green color; under an intense Light, they go yellow and red. The young leafs are mottled in white.

They burgeon in groups; the young specimens sprout from the elders roots.

The flowers are tubular and of a yellow color.

There are species with red or orange flowers.

Within the epidermis layer the bitter, and aloina rich acibar (aloe juice) flows.

In the middle of the leaf a jelly and transparent pulp amasses: The gel, crystal or aloe fillet.

Both the acibar and the gel are collected from the leafs, they have different and complementary characteristics, but they can also be counter productive.

 Cares

Original from Africa , this perennial plant grows in arid and warms climes; they are vulnerable to the cold and the water excess, so the gritty soils with good drainage, slightly acids, as well as good illuminations suits it.

It prefers sunny and warm places, reaching around 2 meters high. It demands sporadic irrigations, whenever the soil has eliminated the water from the previous irrigation.

It is convenient to transplant the plants to clay flower plots, to contribute to the water evaporation. If they are transplanted, no irrigation should be apply, leaving the heal the roots.

Young specimens sprout from the stalk base should be removed, and they can be seeded separately. Thin and twisted leafs reveal its irrigation needs, whilst the leaf hardening and darkening are a warning for the humidity excess.

Leafs horizontally open reveal lack of Light, whilst the yellowish or reddish color is caused by light excess. A slowly plant growing could be related to a water or fertilizers excess.

 Harvest

The succulent, hard, basal leafs are the proper for practical uses. Leafs should be cut carefully to prevent damage the plant.

To remove the alcibar transversal cuts should be done, and then the sap should be drift away over a recipient. Afterwords thermal treatment can be apply to condense the latex.

The aloe gel is obtained by cutting the leafs edges and separating the fillet with a knife or a spoon. The gel can be preserved for several weeks in a refrigerator inside its natural envelope, although it can also be preserved out of the leafs for few days.

If the gel looks obscure, as sign of oxidation, should be discarded.