ALOE
aloe vera L. Burm.
aloe barbadensis Miller
Asphodelaceae
AKA
Barbados
Curacao aloe
PARTS USED
leaves, latex and juice
PLANETS: Mars and Pluto
Invocatory: Venus
Funereal Herbe
Herbe of Portection
Religious Herbe
LORE
Aloe is sacred among many of the followers of Mohammed,
particularly those living in Egypt.
Mrs Grieve describes one of their customs for us.
Pilgrims who visit Mohammed's shrine hang the aloe above the doorway.
In that culture it is also believed that the aloe provides protection
to one's home and the practice has spread to other religions in Egypt as well.
Grieve tells us that the Arabic name, Saber, means patience and symbolizes
the period of time spent between death and resurrection.
The aloe is sometimes planted upon a burial site, believed to promote
a peaceful existence until the deceased is reborn.
The ability of the aloe to survive prolonged periods without water
in arid regions must certainly enhance the belief
in its ability to soothe one's soul.
Roman women believed that the plant was sacred to the goddess Venus,
who bestowed love and beauty to those who gave her honor.
Among some tribes living along the Congo River in Africa,
the juice of the aloe is ritually gathered and is intergrated
into their hunting rituals.
The practical aspect is that, when the hunter's body is coated
with the juice of the aloe, he can move among his prey
without his scent giving him away.
The aloe allows him to become more at one with his environment.
USAGE
Based upon lore and history, it would hold that growing an aloe
would bring increased protection for your home.
Should you live in a climate where it is possible, the custom of planting
an aloe upon the grave of a beloved remains highly reccomended.
Modern lore has suggested that the aloe increases one's likelihood
of finding success in the world.
The liquid may be used in a magickal balm or integrated into a daily,
magickal tonic
Modern lore also purports that the aloe may help those afflicted
with feelings of loneliness.
DESCRIPTION
They are succulent plants belonging to the Lily family, with perennial,
strong and fibrous roots and numerous, persistent, fleshy leaves,
proceeding from the upper part of the root, narrow, tapering,
thick and fleshy, usually beset at the edges with spiney teeth.
Many of the species are woody and branching.
In the remote districts of S.W. Africa and in Natal,
Aloes have been discovered 30 to 60 feet in height,
with stems as much as 1O feet in circumference.
The flowers are produced in erect, terminal spikes.
There is no calyx, the corolla is tubular, divided into six narrow segments
at the mouth and of a red, yellow or purplish colour.
The capsules contain numerous angular seeds.
The true Aloe is in flower during the greater part of the year and is not to be
confounded with another plant, the Agave or American Aloe, agave americana,
which is remarkable for the long interval between its periods of flowering.
This is a succulent plant, without stem, the leaves being radical, spiney, and toothed.
There is a variety with variegated foliage.
The flower-stalk rises to many feet in height, bearing a number
of large and handsome flowers.
In cold climates there is usually a very long interval between the times
of its flowering, though it is a popular error to suppose that it happens
only once in a hundred years for when it obtains sufficient
heat and receives a culture similar to that of the pineapple,
it is found to flower much more frequently.
Various species of Agave, all of which closely resemble each other,
have been largely grown as ornamental plants since the first half
of the sixteenth century in the south of Europe, and are completely
acclimatized in Spain, Portugal and Southern Italy,
but though often popularly called Aloes all of them are plants
of the New World whereas the true Aloes are natives of the Old World.
From a chemical point of view there is also no analogy
at all between Aloes and Agaves.
Although the Agave is not employed medicinally, the leaves
have been used in Jamaica as a substitute for soap, the expressed juice
(a gallon of the juice yields about 1 lb. of the soft extract),
dried in the sun, being made into balls with wood ash.
This soap lathers with salt water as well as fresh.
The leaves have also been used for scouring pewter and kitchen utensils.
The inner spongy substance of the leaves in a decayed state has been
employed as tinder and the fibres may be spun into a strong, useful thread.
The fleshy leaves of the true Aloe contain near the epidermis or outer skin,
a row of fibrovascular bundles, the cells of which are much
enlarged and filled with a yellow juice which exudes when the leaf is cut.
When it is desired to collect the juice, the leaves are cut off close
to the stem and so placed that the juice is drained off into tubs.
This juice thus collected is concentrated either by spontaneous
evaporation, or more generally by boiling until it becomes
of the consistency of thick honey.
On cooling, it is then poured into gourds, boxes, or other
convenient receptacles, and solidifies.
Aloes require two or three years' standing before they yield their juice.
In the West Indian Aloe plantations they are set out in rows like
cabbages and cutting takes place in March or April,
but in Africa the drug is collected from the wild plants.
HABITAT
Native to Africa, introduced worldwide.
Perennial found wild in East and South Africa,
cultivated in the West Indies and other tropical areas,
has been reported in Zapata area of Texas.
Strong, fibrous root produces a rosette of fleshy basal leaves
as in agave, but smaller.
Narrow lancelotted leaves are 1-2 feet long and whitish-green
on both sides, bearing tiny teeth on the margins.
Yellow-purplish, drooping flowers, which are evident
most of the year, grow in a long raceme at the top
of a flower stalk up to 4 1/2 feet high.
Fruit is a triangular capsule containing numerous seeds.
aloe latiffolia
Found in South Africa.
Some natives use the leaf pulp to treat inflamed boils and sores;
others use the leaf pulp and the plant's yellow juice to cure ringworms.
aloe perryi
Bombay aloe
Turkey aloe
Zanizibar aloe found on the island of Socotra
near the intrance of the Gulf of Aden.
Considered less powerful.
aloe saponaria
aloe tenuior
HISTORY AND TRADITIONAL USES
Mentioned in Babylonian texts and long used in Arabia.
Traditionally and currently used in many cosmetics and shampoos.
Known as a remedy for burns, constipation, and cuts.
Is used in small quantities to aid digestion and treat
intestinal parasites and other intestinal conditions.
ACTIVE CONSTITUENTS
ACTIONS
CRITTERS
DESCRIPTION
MEDICINAL
PREPERATIONS
SKIN CONDITIONS
SOURCES
Health4Her Library
"The Herb Book"
by John Lust
Cosby Creek Web Design
|
