Aloe-Plants - Cousins to my Aloe Vera!

Wow, I've discovered lately there are 300 or more species of aloe-plants, and many hybrids too. My humble jungle of aloe vera plants are naturally found in very dry, hot areas and seen widely in Africa especially.

Dad thought they were a cactus from Mexico, but no, they come from the lily family. My own aloe vera have spread out about 2 to 3 feet, and some have become two feet high, and some nearly three.

Aloe vera requires very little water or maintenance. Instead, they fill up with a wonderful healing gel or moisture in their long green and spotted green leaves. This juice can be used as a medicine. More and more uses are found for it all the time.

Some friends have complained to me that they can't them to grow or thrive in their home. Me-- I can hardly hold them back! My plants have thrived even in the sunroom, which got cold enough in our Canadian winters to use as a cold storage or fridge room. They did like the hot humid summer days though.

Don't believe it if you read that these aloe plants are toxic. My Dad (age 91+) and I ate the gel in the leaves with great healing results. The green outer shell of the aloe vera leaves is bitter, but edible.

While many have heard that it is a good plant to apply to a wound or burn, I am here to tell you it can do much more. Check out the rest of this site to learn about aloe vera plants and their uses.

I have discovered on the internet there are many varieties of aloe-plants. Some say 200, some 300 and some even insist there are 500 varieties. I won't attempt to verify that, but I thought I'd mention some of the aloe cousins for curiosity's sake.

The Aloe bainesii, for example, is a TREE!! Can you imagine aloe vera growing on trees? The all seem to have these general characteristics; they are succulents from the lily family, and have healing properties. Aloes thrive in dry hot desert area, and are drought tolerant, needing little care, and they have showy flowers.

It would be interesting to confirm if all these other aloes plants have healing properties too!


Aloe bainesii (or Aloe barberae)

This one grows anywhere from 30 ft to 55 ft tall. It has a stout base trunk with many forked branches. It's blossoms are green with rose-coloured tips which are approximately an inch across.

The two names Aloe barberae and Aloe bainesii was published simultaneously for the same aloe-plant. In a scientific paper that was overlooked the name A. barberae was chosen, it is for this reason that the name was reinstated. Aloe barberae was named after Mary Elizabeth Barber (nee Bowker) who was one of the pioneer plant collectors of South Africa.


Aloe aristata, Torch Plant, Lace Aloe

This dwarf species has no stem, but grows in dense rosettes of four inch leaves, so it is ideal togrow in rock gardens and edgings or in pots. It flowers in early summer with a two foot stock.

Stemless, dense rosettes of 4-inch leaves with raised, soft white teeth make this dwarf species of aloes a favorite for edging, in rock gardens, in pots, and as ground cover. A flower stalk grows to almost 2 feet and produces orange-red blooms in early summer.


Aloe distans, Jewelled Aloe

Here's a low-growing aloe-plant, that sends its succulent stems along the ground and turns its ends up. The leaves form the signature whirl or rosette of leaves in blue-green, with tiny spines on their edges. It blooms in early summer with flowers that range from dull scarlet, to yellow with some orange.


Aloe dichotoma

Again, a succulent plant, which grows to about 20 to 27 feet tall, and about 20 feet wide. It blooms in early summer and on through late summer. Wow! That's still much bigger than my own aloe vera! The flowers are yelllow, and it likes full or partial sun,


Aloe dorotheae

The size of this aloe plant compares more to mine at 2 -3 foot heights, with about 3 foot widths, but this one has red and yellow flowers with green tips from early winter and on through. It is nearly stemless, with succulent leaves that start out green but become brownish-red with long spots as it matures. It likes full and partial sun.


Aloe ferox

Here's another large sized aloe tree. It grows to a height of 6 to 10 feet, and is 6 feet wide. It bears orange flowers from mid- to late spring. It loves lots of full sun. The flowers look something like what I've seen on my own aloe vera, just much larger and more vivid. Apparently it thrives in dry, hot climates, and is suitable for container planting, and is easy to maintain. Just a note, it is susceptible to root rot.


Aloe glauca

This shorter aloe tree has clusters of tubular pale pink or salmon flowers in spring, and it does well in places where they have hot summers and rainy winters like they have in South Africa where it is native. It can grow to over 4 feet tall, and spread out to a width of 4 feet too.


Aloe humilis echinata, Spider Aloe, Hedgehog Aloe, Crocodile Jaws

I can't tell you why it has so many names, but it looks more like my aloe vera plants, except for the bluish tinge, and all those extra white teeth along the sides. It has bloom spikes with stunningly scarlet or orange blossoms. What a contrast! They say it grows only 4-8 inches high, but it spreads out about a foot and a half (I wonder if the inches is a typo).


Aloe nobilis, Gold Tooth Aloe

Here's one to grow in a pot or as an edging in your garden. It takes up very limited root space. It grows very thick leaves with lots of horny teeth along the sides. It fits into containers well. This aloe plant blooms from late spring to mid-summer with brillant orange and red flowers. Don't hesitate to keep this one in the sun.


Aloe plicatilis

This looks like flattened bananas to me, but I read that it grows from 3 to 8 feet high, and about 4 feet across. The leaves are more like fans than rosettes in this one. It blooms with red flowers from mid-spring to mid-summer and those flowers attract the hummingbirds.


Aloe x principis

Apparently this aloe-plant grows large clumps of rosettes, reaching 4-6 feet high, and bearing red flowers too, but the dead leaves tend to droop like a cloak around the live ones. It likes full, hot sun.


Aloe ramosissima

This one looks interesting. Its gel-filled leaves grow in a twirling rosette layer after layer, getting taller and taller. It can reach tree size, but will stay smaller if grown in a container or pot. It has winter-blooming yellow flowers, and sometimes they get a greenish tinge.


Aloe speciosa

Wow, you ought to do a search to see these aloe-plants! It looks like a bunch of cucumbers sticking up right side by side, with dark and light green stripes up them. Out of the ends pointing up come red little sword-like blooms. They say, the leaves have dark pink to red margins and red teeth. I couldn't see that, but won't argue. :) It can grow to a height of 12 to 18 feet, and I'd love to see that. It must be quite the sight!


Aloe striata, Coral Aloe

An aloe plant that loves a hot dry country. In the heat the blue-green leaves reddish-pink on the edges. It needs some protection from the heat of the sun, but it bears brilliant coral-pink to orange flowers in the spring. This aloe plant can be grown as a houseplant... hint, hint.


(Since I don't steal pictures from other sites, it may be a while before I am able to get photos to illustrate these descriptions. I will be happy to publish them here if anyone would offer one). Here's some sites with quite a few! a French site with 173 photos! - a tripod site with 159 by my count. (Wonder how they found that many?) Click on the small photos to see the larger version.