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Aloe vera
Fruit, flowers, and leaves of the well-known Aloe vera plant.
growing in my desert garden; "Aloe vera is a species of succulent plant that probably originated in northern Africa. The species does not have any naturally occurring populations, although closely related aloes do occur in northern Africa." - wiki
"The earliest record of Aloe vera use comes from the Egyptians. There are records of the Egyptians drawing pictures of Aloe vera plants on the walls of the temples. Many cultures such as the Egyptians would have even elevated the plant to a ‘god-like’ status. The healing properties of the Aloe vera were utilized for centuries earning the name “Plant of Immortality”. One of the common myths about the Aloes was that the two Egyptian queens, Nefertiti and Cleopatra used Aloe vera as part of their beauty treatments…The Egyptians used the Aloe vera to make papyrus like scrolls as well as for treatment of tuberculosis. In ancient Egypt when a Pharaoh died, the funeral ceremony was by invitation only with a price tag included: a pound of Aloes. Egyptians used the odorous mixture of Aloe and myrrh for embalming and also placed it with the burial clothes. A man’s wealth and esteem for the king were estimated by the number of pounds of Aloes he brought." ~ http://www.herballegacy.com/Baldwin_Hist...
7 Comments
Thanks, Bernadette!
Thanks, Seema. :-)
nice series........
Okay, camera battery is dead so a new shot will have to wait! But I added an image that shows a bit more of the whole plant.
Thanks Luis and Maria! I was using my macro lens that day, but will find a shot of the whole plant...or get outside and take some more today!
Beautiful series, Bernadette. And interesting how many uses it had. Could you add a photo of the whole plant?
Nice series and interesting info Bernadette.