Baja_Costero said:Aloe vera.
Hamwild said:A. barbadensis or chinensis (because I see both listed as 'Aloe Vera')?![]()
skopjecollection said:I dont know about that, but it sounds like youre implying that there are 2 different species called aloe vera, one being the "true " one, and the spotted is called officinialis. Ive noticed that you also use "phedimus" as a species. Dont know how up to date this data is, but ive not seen a lot of publications online supporting this "aloe officinialis" or even phedimus. Might be new, might be old, might be unique to north america. Unless wikipedia or lllifle or whatever else is popular on the internet makes it official, i will not recognize these names.
http://www.llifle.com/Encyclop...
Baja_Costero said:Stefan, the documentation is there in the literature. Have you looked at any source other than the internet?
The subject is discussed at some length in the Definitive Guide, which I would consider a better source than Wikipedia or the other web sites you mentioned. I would recommend you find a copy of that book and read what they have to say. The authors of that book (Carter/Lavranos/Newton/Walker) were living encyclopedias of aloe lore. Sadly John Lavranos passed away earlier this year. In the book, they explain the difference between the two plants alternatively or formerly known (depending on your point of view) as Aloe vera and Aloe vera chinensis.
Aloe barbadensis was a former name for Aloe vera. Not too long ago that name was retired when it was understood that Aloe vera was an older name, and thus took precedence. The longer name has been retired from use but still pops up now and then from old-timers.
Aloe vera is fundamentally different from Aloe officinalis, or Aloe vera chinensis, whatever you want to call the other plant.
The medicinal use is different. Aloe vera (the "true" Aloe vera) is used for topical relief of skin ailments. Aloe officinalis (or whatever name you like) may be consumed as a medicine. (I do not recommend consuming any aloe you cannot definitely identify as medicinal, which generally requires seeing the flowers.)
Critically, Aloe vera is incapable of growing true from seed. It is propagated only from offsets. The other aloe can be grown from seed. I have grown seedlings from it, so I can speak from experience.
The flowers on Aloe officinalis (or whatever name you like) are different from the flowers on Aloe vera. They may be red, orange or yellow, usually orange or coral, whereas the flowers on Aloe vera are strictly yellow. The flowers on Aloe vera are also characteristically ventricose, which means they have a little belly. The racemes are also different in other ways.
I would argue that Aloe officinalis (or whatever name you like) is actually very common in cultivation, just under another name. It's not as common here as Aloe vera, but it's somewhere in the top 5.
skopjecollection said:All i can tell you is that only the "exclusive " definitive aloe guide does this mix up. Literature or not, there is not a whole lot on the internet supporting this.
Baja_Costero said:Aloes can grow to be pretty huge (the max height is about 60 feet for the trees) but your plant is at the upper limit for Aloe vera.
The former is an old (invalid) name for Aloe vera, the latter is an old name for Aloe officinalis. I realize the database here does not support the latter conclusion but that's because the CoL has not caught up with the decision made in the "Definitive Guide" book to aloes. The two plants can be distinguished based on a few features: Aloe vera is larger, has fewer spots, and flowers yellow, not coral or orange (though some officinalis plants can flower yellow).
Curiously the Latin names barbadensis and chinensis (which mean "from Barbados" and "from China" respectively) do not bear any relevance to the origin of these aloes, which are both from Arabia. The other Latin names make more sense: Aloe vera is the "true" aloe, and Aloe officinalis is the "medicinal" or "pharmacological" aloe.
It is a little surprising that the plant in the OP is so large without any pups, as Aloe vera typically offsets like crazy, but maybe they were recently separated. A flower picture would be necessary to confirm the ID with certainty.