Aloe saponaria Haw.
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Aloe saponaria Haw.
Liliaceae (Lily Family)South AfricaAloe |
February Photo
Plant Characteristics:
Stiff basal rosette of 12-20 succulent leaves, almost acaulescent, lvs.,
ascending or spreading, lance-oblong, acuminate, 6-10 in. long, 1 2-2 1/2 in.
wide, with irregular transverse rows of whitish spots and large marginal brown
teeth; infl. 1 1/2-2 1/2 ft. high, simple or branched, racemes 2-3 in. long;
pedicels arcuate-erect; fls. 1 1/2-1 3/4 in. long, red, the segms. greenish, 1/3
in. long; stamens equaling perianth.
Habitat:
Escape from cultivation. Flowers
over a long period in the spring. (Sunset
Editors, New Western Garden Book, 1984. 175).
Name:
Aloe, from an old Arabic name.
(Bailey 209). Latin, saponis,
soap. (Jaeger 228).
Probably the crushed foliage or tissues have a soap-like or detergent
effect when rubbed on the hands, or cloth, in water.
(John Johnson).
General:
Found only on the Castaways bluffs and I suspect that plants or parts of
plants were thrown over the bank when the old restaurant was there.
The restaurant burned in l955 or l956, and in l957 and l958, while I
worked for the Irvine Co., I transplanted a number of these plants to a cactus
garden at my home in Costa Mesa. (my comments).
Some people brush their gums with aloe gel, says Eric Shapira, D.D.S., a
dentist in private practice in Granada, CA.
"It's a healing agent and it will reduce some of the plaque in your
mouth," he says. (Tkac, Editor
308). "We're
starting to see evidence in medical literature that aloe vera may really help
wound healing," says University of Nebraska dermatologist and assistant
professor of internal medicine Rodney M. Basler, M.D.
Simply break off a leaf and apply the juice.
But test a small area first, he cautions, to make sure you're not
allergic to aloe. (Tkac, Editor
573). The
so called American aloe is Agave.
(Bailey 209). Species
perhaps 200 in the Old World, largely in tropics and South Africa.
(Bailey 208). Apparently sterile but
spreading vegetatively. (Hickman,
Ed. 1172). A.
vera, the Curacao or Barbados aloe, with greenish-orange flowers, is used
for minor burns, sunburn, and insect bites.
(Meyer 6).
Text Ref:
Bailey 209; Hickman, Ed. 1172.
Photo Ref:
Feb 2 84 # 12,13.
Identity: by R. De Ruff,
tentatively O.K.’d by F. Roberts.
First Found: February 1984.
Computer Ref: Plant Data 109.
No plant specimen.
Last edit 5/27/04.
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February Photo