ALOE
Aloe socotrina
COMMON NAMES: Bombay aloe, turkey aloe, moka aloe, Zanzibar aloe.
FEATURES: Aloe, a genus of nearly two hundred species of mostly South African succulent plants. The
properties of this plant were known to the ancient Greeks, and it has been gathered on Socotra for more
than two thousand years.
Aloe thrives in warm regions and grows wild in Florida. It is much like succulent cactus in texture. The
leaves are usually elongated, of a deep brown or olive color, frequently pointed, blunt, or spiny-toothed,
sometimes blotched or mottled. The stem is commonly short, with a basal rosette of leaves. Taste:
peculiar and bitter. Powder: a bright yellow. The red or yellow tubular flowers are found on a stalk in
simple or branched clusters.
These properties change somewhat in the different varieties, some species being treelike with forked
branches. Aloe bainesii grows to heights of 65 feet, being 15 feet wide at the base. Other species of aloe
are often cultivated in gardens of succulents, including the miniature ones grown in homes; they require
strong light and careful watering. The “American aloe” is not an aloe, but Agave americana.
MEDICINAL PART: The insipid juice of the leaves, which is a greenish, translucent, salvelike substance.
SOLVENT: Water.
BODILY INFLUENCE: Tonic, purgative, emmenagogue, anthelmintic.
USES: Aloe is one of the most sovereign agents we have among the herbal medicines, being cleansing to
the morbid matter of the stomach, liver, spleen, kidney, and bladder. Does not gripe and is very healing
and soothing to all the tissue, blood, and lymph fluids it obliges.
Aloe should never be used in pregnancy, or by itself when one is suffering from hemorrhoids, as in
hemorrhoids it arouses and irritates the lower bowel. Much used in suppressed menstruation, dyspepsia,
skin lesions, disease of the liver, headaches, etc.
DOSE: In constipation, in powder form, ½–2 grains, depending on age and condition; for obstructed or
suppressed menstruation, 5–10 grains twice daily; to expel thread-worms, dissolve the aloe in warm
water and use as an injection. The same mixture can be taken internally for several days.
EXTERNALLY: Powdered aloe made into a strong decoction and rubbed over the nipples will help wean a
nursing child, due to the disagreeable taste.