General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Cactus/Succulent
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Full Sun to Partial Shade
Leaves: Evergreen
Fruit: Dehiscent
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Yellow
Other: Orange-red
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Winter
Inflorescence Height: 3 feet
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic
Uses: Provides winter interest
Medicinal Herb
Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds
Resistances: Drought tolerant
Propagation: Seeds: Can handle transplanting
Other info: Sow seeds in sandy soil. Seeds germinate in a few weeks at temperatures between 68 and 75 degrees F. Seedlings need moist but well-drained soil.
Propagation: Other methods: Cuttings: Stem
Offsets
Other: Stems cut below a node root easily. Cut a stem that has gotten leggy, let it dry out for at least a few hours to form a seal on the cut surface. Place the cutting in rooting medium kept moist, but not wet, until roots form.
Pollinators: Birds
Containers: Suitable in 1 gallon
Suitable in 3 gallon or larger
Needs excellent drainage in pots
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil
With thorns/spines/prickles/teeth

Image
Common names
  • Aloe

Photo Gallery
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona my yard
Date: 2016-09-18
Location: Scottsdale, Arizona my yard
Date: 2016-09-18
Comments:
  • Posted by raingreen on Nov 21, 2021 1:02 AM concerning plant:
    I believe the plant I describe below is the same one commonly grown as a houseplant back east. Flowers match the 2 photos currently in the Aloe officinalis file by plantmanager.

    Strong performer under waterless conditions in inland southern California (east of Los Angeles), where some of the fancier types burn up. Even if waterless, plants grown in rich heavy soil proliferate too much IMO. Conversely plants in infertile decomposed granite (also waterless and no more fertile than a sandbox) stay as single rosettes for at least a couple of years. The plants in the heavier soil flower in waves a couple of times a year and the flowers look more airy-fairy than most other Aloes. Would be ideal as a garden flower if it didn't pup so much.

    The plant has a seasonal component, turning a pleasant sea-green upon the winter rains, and showing a nondescript brownish coloration during the summer drought. It appears to function as a rain lily, sending out a flush of blooms after a dry period interrupted by rain. In the informal gardening sense, the inflorescences are a simple loosely held spike that technically sometimes branches. Because the flowers are held more loosely and simply than the typical grand-looking and striking branched aloe inflorescence, they combine better with roses and other cottage garden types like Pelargoniums.
  • Posted by Baja_Costero (Baja California - Zone 11b) on Dec 19, 2019 1:29 PM concerning plant:
    Clumping Arabian medicinal aloe with shiny (non-pruinose) yellowish green leaves and yellow or orange-red flowers. Vigorously offsetting via rhizomes, growing a short stem with age. Juvenile leaves are heavily spotted; adults may retain some spots, especially near the base of the leaves.

    This species is widespread in southwestern Saudi Arabia and western Yemen near the Red Sea at 0-2300 feet. It is similar to the African species A. eumassawana from Djibouti and Eritrea. It is said to intergrade with A. austroarabica where those species meet in habitat.

    Aloe officinalis was originally described as a variety of Aloe vera, and it is often confused with Aloe vera, a larger plant with ventricose yellow flowers which is unknown in nature. The two are both medicinal but they have different uses. The gel from Aloe vera is said to have benefits when used topically; A. officinalis is consumed for its supposed medicinal benefits. Do not consume any aloe that you cannot definitively identify (which usually requires seeing the flowers). Aloe is a diverse genus of many non-medicinal plants and even a few poisonous ones.

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