Aloe esculenta

L. C. Leach

Aalwyn, Ekundo, Endobo, Endobwe

XanthorrhoeaceaeLeavesFlowersPotential hazards — see below

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(c) Eric Knight, some rights reserved (CC BY)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Flowers, Vegetable

The flowers are used to make savoring foods and cakes, and are also incorporated into vegetable dishes.

Known Hazards

The sap of Aloe species contains anthraquinones. These compounds have several beneficial medicinal actions, particularly as a laxative, and many species of Aloe are thus employed in traditional medicine. Whilst safe in small doses and for short periods of time, anthraquinones do have potential problems if used in excess. These include congestion and irritation of the pelvic organs. Long term use of anthraquinone laxatives may also play a role in development of colorectal cancer as they have genotoxic potential, and tumorigenic potential.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. It grows in hot, dry country. It grows in sandy areas. In southern Africa it grows at about 1,000 m altitude. It can grow in arid places. Brisbane Botanical Gardens.

Africa, Angola, Australia, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Namibia, Southern Africa, Zambia,

Countries: Angola, Australia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A herb that keeps growing from year to year. It forms dense clumps. It can have a stem 40 cm long. The leaves are in compact rings. They are 50 cm long by 8 cm wide at the base. They are sword shaped and grey-green. They have white spots. There are 1-3 flowering stalks 2 m high.

How to Grow

Plants are not tolerant of frost, being damaged if the temperature falls to 0°c. Succeeds in full sun and in light shade. Established plants are drought tolerant. Aloe species follow the Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). CAM plants can fix carbon dioxide at night and photosynthesize with closed stomata during the day, thus minimizing water loss. This, plus their succulent leaves and stems, and the presence of a thick cuticle, makes them well adapted to dry conditions.

Propagation: Seed - we have no specific information on this species - in general Aloes are sown in a sandy, well-drained potting soil in a warm, shady position in standard seed trays. Germination takes about three weeks. Cover the seed with a thin layer of sand (1 - 2mm), keep moist. The seedlings can be planted out in individual bags or containers as soon as they are large enough to handle. Suckers

Medicinal Uses

The leaf sap is applied to burns and cuts. The pulverized, dried root is made into a paste by adding water and is massaged into painful and swollen body parts. The distinctive constituents in Aloe leaves are phenolic compounds, including chromone, anthraquinone or anthrone derivatives. Some of the compounds are found in many species, whereas others occur in only a few.

Notes

Also put in the family Aloaceae. Also put in the family Asphodelaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Aloe rubrolutea (sensu Story)

References (7)

Flora Zambesiaca. http://apps.kew.org/efloras
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 9
Rodin, 1985,
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 24th March 2011] (As Aloe angolensis)
Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 31
Story, 1958,
Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179