Can this aloe plant be identified as the medicinal Aloe vera, Aloe barbadensis? I was thinking about making a beverage with it but thought I should verify that it's the right plant. Bought many years ago from the local nursery I think it is the right one. But, it has never flowered, just multiplied and had to be re-potted several times (it's due to be divided and repotted again).

Do you have a recipe on how to deal with the plants to make a beverage and do you know what usually happens when you drink it?
If you do, OK, but better you than me. If you do not, I'd do some research...

It could be Aloe vera, but hard to know for sure without flowers as there are several lookalikes that are most easily distinguished by their flowers. On paper those lookalikes are also used for medicinal purposes, but afaik that is topically for use on the skin, not for ingestion. I'd not ingest anything that you are not absolutely sure of the ID of.

Thank you. Bought the plant so long ago I cannot remember for sure. I normally use the plant topically for burns and such, also used on the dogs for skin conditions. It works well for that.

Yes, I do have a recipe for drinking aloe and have done much research. But I will purchase a verified Aloe barbadensis before using it.

It does look like A. vera.
"Barbadensis" is an illegitimate name; A. vera is correct.
Why you want to drink it is beyond me...

To be clear: if your plant is Aloe vera (which I would guess it is; see below) this is probably not the aloe you want to be making drinks from.

Whoever told you that story does not understand aloe names as they are understood today. Not just that barbadensis is no longer a valid name (Aloe vera is correct) but that the former Aloe vera chinensis (considered a variety of Aloe vera, in earlier days) is not the same species after all, and it has different uses in cultivation. So whoever gave you the recipe for barbadensis is two steps away from the modern truth (as well as ancient history, as it turns out) about the supposed medicinal/healthy use of the plant.

Aloe vera, the plant used topically for skin problems, makes flowers like this:



Note the color, the shape of the raceme, and the way each individual flower has a little belly on the bottom. If your aloe does not make flowers like this, it is not Aloe vera. Another signature trait of this species is that it is incapable of making viable seed (a result of millennia in cultivation, presumably).

Aloe officinalis, among other species from Arabia/East Africa, is used as medicine that you consume, in contrast to Aloe vera, which you do not. The species name refers to its medicinal use. Its flowers are more likely to be red, orange or coral in color, and they are less densely packed on the raceme. If you want to definitively identify your plant as medicinal, you have to see the flowers.

I do not recommend consuming any aloe that you cannot definitively identify, as there are lots of aloes (500+ species) with no medicinal benefit and even a few that are poisonous (fortunately these are uncommon in cultivation).

Baja, thank you for the information. I definitely don't want to consume the wrong plant. Actually, that's why I'm asking. You have so much knowledge, I really appreciate you taking the time to share it here. It's always good to have good information!

I've had my potted plant for many years but it's never flowered. Need to look into that because I wonder why?

I will add some thoughts about Aloe vera. My source might use the synonym A. barbadensis to differentiate the plant better from one of the many other aloes. And the fact that the name Aloe Vera was formerly used for another species seems to make it too easy to end up with the wrong plant. Using the synonym will lead you to the correct plant. Some vendors still use the old name, like this company that I really like : http://companionplants.com/cat...

Your plant may not have flowered because of insufficient light. I don't keep Aloe vera in pots, only in the ground, so I don't really know its container behavior.

The name A. barbadensis really is defunct. It refers to the exact same plant as A. vera. The name Aloe vera takes precedence because it was published first, 10 days earlier than the other name in 1768. This fact was (re)established in 1979 when the original literature was dug up for comparison, and A. barbadensis became a synonym for A. vera, as it should have been in the first place. There was an A. barbadensis chinensis before there was an A. vera chinensis (these are the same plant, but different from Aloe vera the species with the yellow flowers and topical usage).

The old name (barbadensis) is employed by old timers and people who haven't kept up with the last 40 years of aloe history. It's not useful today except as the footnote it has become in the history of the species.

Thank you again, Baja. Your information is so extremely helpful and valuable. But, being an old timer myself, that explains much.

There was a time when I was able to grow Aloes in the ground but they don't survive winters here.

@Wildfowers, I'm also an old-timer and and I also grow plants for ingestion, and I have to agree with Baja about precision when ID-ing what you plan to ingest. I know you do, too; this is more about that site. It looks reputable, but they are definitely doing their customers a disservice by using outdated nomenclature. If you're a regular customer, perhaps they'd be open to considering Baja's information if you brought it to their attention?

Thanks for the history and clarification, @Baja_Costero! That's one of those confusions that was sort of on the edge of my radar but never present enough to research.

Not to hijack this thread, but I'll take this opportunity to thank you for all of your many posts about rejuvenating aloes. A friend gave me this trainwreck to to resurrect. YIKES! I was told it had been on someone's office desk in the same pot for ten years. It was in some atrophied substance that might have once been soil, plus builder's sand. Not knowing a thing about it, I followed your plentiful instructions to others re soil, drying, watering, etc. She looks a lot happier now. Thanks!

Hello,

I usually get my aloe for drink making at the Asian or Latin American markets. Local supermarkets with a multi-ethnic clientele also will sell the leaves in the fresh produce aisle. The leaves sold for this can be over two feet long and over 6 inches wide. When cut, I get clear, gooey jelly-steaks. Aloe drinks are sold many in places and produced by many brands. The tasty ones are blended with white grape juice and chunks. Some beverages sold taste very, uh, medicinal with a bitter astringency.

Good luck with your aloe drink, and don't eat random houseplants.

For the curious, here are a few aloes which are known to be poisonous (not an exhaustive list):

https://garden.org/plants/grou...

Hello,

I usually get my aloe for drink making at the Asian or Latin American markets. Local supermarkets with a multi-ethnic clientele also will sell the leaves in the fresh produce aisle. The leaves sold for this can be over two feet long and over 6 inches wide. When cut, I get clear, gooey jelly-steaks. Aloe drinks are sold many in places and produced by many brands. The tasty ones are blended with white grape juice and chunks. Some beverages sold taste very, uh, medicinal with a bitter astringency.

Good luck with your aloe drink, and don't eat random houseplants.

I've seen Aloe vera leaved in the produce center at Kroger, if that's an option. Sometimes at Walmart too.

Hello. I saw aloe vera leaves in the produce section my last visit to the market! It is an option, Hamwild, thank you. I live in a very small town so the options are limited. The health food store hasn't been able to get the product I wanted, a distilled Aloe vera water. Apparently the warehouse hasn't been able to get any since the pandemic. Most of the products I've seen have citric acid, an ingredient I want to avoid.

I didn't have much hope that someone would be able to positively ID my aloe but I wanted to give it a try. Baja says no, so I'm going with that! I might purchase an Aloe vera plant but in the meantime, I found some aloe water on line by Lakewood Organic. It's fresh pressed and doesn't have citric acid. I'm going to give it a try.

Thank you, everyone. I forgot how helpful everyone on this site is. It's wonderful and since this is a public forum, it could very well be helpful for others.

Edit to say distilled aloe vera water is totally tasteless.

Hello,

I usually get my aloe for drink making at the Asian or Latin American markets. Local supermarkets with a multi-ethnic clientele also will sell the leaves in the fresh produce aisle. The leaves sold for this can be over two feet long and over 6 inches wide. When cut, I get clear, gooey jelly-steaks. Aloe drinks are sold many in places and produced by many brands. The tasty ones are blended with white grape juice and chunks. Some beverages sold taste very, uh, medicinal with a bitter astringency.

Good luck with your aloe drink, and don't eat random houseplants.

Yes, AnnMarie, many, if not most supermarkets have fresh aloe leaves available for sale. Aloe vera leaves contain a gooey substance inside the leaves. I'm looking to use the gel that's clear in color, found in the innermost part of the leaf (added to water to make a drink) and try to avoid the part just under the skin where the gel is yellowish in color, that's where the latex is found. It's bitter in taste and can cause the more unpleasant side effects, like a laxative.

The gel of Aloe vera is known to have healing and antibacterial/antifungal properties.

I don't know what the science is for aloe and digestive issues but I know it will help my acid reflux.

Here's a video making aloe water.

https://www.medicalmedium.com/...

Yes, I'm a fan of Medical Medium.