Aloe Vera: A Great Plant For Your Home Herb Garden
As a multi-purpose medicinal herb, the plant is commonly utilized in many households worldwide. Unlike some types of plants, this plant no longer thrives in the wild. The aloe vera is said to have its origins in Africa, with relatives of the plant still living up to this day. The plant can also be found in the Bible, making it one of the oldest plants known to man. Nowadays, this plant lives in captivity or grown by people for domestic use (especially in their own home herb garden). This alone would make the aloe vera quite unique to the other household plants in the wild.
The aloe vera has many properties, from soothing burns, promoting faster healing, to the treatment of diseases like diabetes. Due to the special compounds of the plant (which include polymannans, acetylated mannans, anthrones, anthraquinone C-glycosides, lectins and anthraquinones), companies tend to add aloe to their products' ingredients so as to entice users to buy them.
This is a succulent plant (or fat plant) that thrives in zones 8-10. It can be used as an ornamental plant for low-water gardens, and they can also be put inside the house. It can't do quite well in freezing temperatures, and would eventually die under such condition. For those who want to keep the plant in freezing conditions, it is a must to keep it indoors or in a greenhouse so as to prevent the frost from killing it. As a succulent kind of plant, it resembles cacti and other common desert plants. As the plant would favor acrid kinds of climates, too much water exposure will kill it. Because it's one of the easiest plants to care for, it should not be watered until its soil will run dry. Only soil with good drainage should be utilized in potting the plant, because having too much sitting water will cause the root to rot.
When grown and cultivated at home, the plant is typically used for treating cuts and burns. There are conflicting studies when it comes to analyzing how the plant itself affects the healing rate. There are indicators that would say that the healing rate may be dependent on the type and depth of the burn, and how it is bandaged. Research show that the healing rate is slowed from the plant. The aloe vera may also be digested as a general cure.
Despite the lack of data on its healing capabilities and other properties, it has garnered a good reputation among the people, granting the plant a place in soaps, lotions, shampoos and a wide selection of cosmetics. But the gains garnered from the plant's presence in the products are just based on belief and not on solid scientific proof. But with its good properties, this plant is truly worth putting in your home herb garden.
