Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.
കറ്റാർവാഴ


Family: XANTHORRHOEACEAE
Sub-Family: Not available
English Name: Aloe
Synonym: Aloe perfoliata var.veraL.
Common Name: Jaffarabad aloe, Indian aloe
Flowering & Fruiting Period: September-November
Distribution: Mediterranean Canary Islands; naturalized in Florida, West Indies,
Habitat: Widely cultivated as medicinal plants
Uses: A gel in the leaves is sometimes used as an ingredient of commercial jellies, drinks and ice cream. As a food supplement, the leaf gel is said to facilitate digestion, and to improve blood and lymphatic circulation, as well as kidney, liver and gall bladder functions. Aloe vera gel has earned a reputation as a miracle drug. It is effective in burn treatment, because of its anti-inflammatory and wound-healing properties. A bitter substance is obtained from the yellow sap at the base of the leaf. Known as ‘bitter aloes’, it contains anthraquinones which are a useful digestive stimulant and a strong laxative. The plant is emmenagogue, emollient, laxative, purgative, stimulant, stomachic, tonic, vermifuge and vulnerary. The leaf extracts are used in skin-care cosmetic products.
Key Characteristics: Trees, to 10 m high, bark pale brown; young twigs glabrescent. Leaves simple, alternate; lamina elliptic, oblong, margin entire. Flowers yellowish-green. Sepals 3, triangular, persistent. Petals 6(3+3) ovate-acute, yellow; stamens many, filaments broad at base, with capitate top of the connective; ovary superior. Fruit ovoid to obovoid, green, covered with curved spines; seeds many, reddish-brown.