What's the name of this Aloe?

I bought this plant about a year or so ago but there was no id tag.
As the stems grow longer they seems to want to hang.


Thanks.

 

Looks like old Aloe vera to me, but hey, I'm no expert...

Ed

 

Thanks Ed, you might be right, but hey, what do I know about them???

 

I had a few like that and a wider leaf variety. The thinner leafed one, like yours, was sold to me as Aloe vera, but thats only what the nursery said, so it ay well be wrong

Ed

 

If the sap dries purple, its Aloe confusa.

Plain old "Aloe vera" doesn't form a stem and has grayish leaves without any spots (and yellow flowers). There is an impostor with spotted leaves (and orange flowers) that often passes as "Aloe vera" in the trade but that isn't your plant either.

 

thanks for clearing it up, steve. i knew it wasn't vera - just had no idea which one it was.

so, the sap dries purple, huh? lol, my kinda plant :)

 

It reminds me of some kind of aloe, not necessarily an "aloe vera" A hybrid aloe perhaps, then again, maybe not. I'll be giving it away anyway to someone who will appreciate it more than I do....

Thanks!

 

I looked up Aloe confusa and it didn't apprear to to be the same. As far what's inside, no purple sap...

 

That "imposter" was sold to me as Aloe vera and it does have orange flowers, thanks Steve...


Ed

 

Confusion over Aloe confusa.

That's not what I said. The fresh sap inside the plant isn't purple. It drys to a purple color when it is exposed to the air. Rub a broken leaf onto a cloth surface and wait to see what color it dries to.

Where did you look up the name Aloe confusa? Did you look in Reynold's revision of tropical Aloes? The pix on the Dave's garden website are misidentified.

Your plant is not the "Impostor" Aloe vera.

 

Ok, I'll give the cloth thing a shot. I looked up Aloe confusa on Google.

 

Ok, I rubbed a good amount of sap into a white cloth and let it dry. Nope, not even a hint of any purple color at all.
Can you post a direct link to a picture of an Aloe confusa that looks like mine?

Thanks!

 

Then it would seem your plant is a garden hybrid.

Did not find any pix of the real Aloe confusa correctly identified on the dreaded interweb. Its not a very reliable source of correct info.

The Reynolds Aloe monograph is your best reference.

 

I thought it might be some kind of aloe hybrid, but I thought I'd see what everyone thought.

Thanks!

 

I've never seen an aloe go leggy quite like that.... Interesting.

 

I know, I don't like the way it looks, that's why I'm giving it away! But it acually gets a lot of bright light and sun.

 

Its not leggy. Its caulescent.

There are many caulescent species of Aloe. Many more hybrids too.

 

I'm well aware of caulescent species; I've got about 100 happy Aloe arborescens in my yard. I must have missed something in the growth pattern of Bluewing's aloe, since it struck me as leggy first, rather than naturally trunk-forming.

 

If the sap dries to purple does it automatically means that the aloe is an aloe confusa? I'm consufed :p I always thought that my Aloe was an aloe vera and the sap does dries to purple! Does confusa have the same medicinal properties has vera?

 

Doesn't look like A. vera - no pale freckles on the leaves.

So far as studied properties go, A. vera (aka A. barbadensis) and A. arborescens are the only two that have proven medical effects.

However, the gel of any aloe will cool burns and may help to accelerate the healing process.

Has this one ever bloomed before? If it did, what colour were the flowers?

 

it does have pale freckles, on new leaves and its babies have lots of freckles. Plenty of babies but first time blooming! Its amazing how fast that came out. I could almost see it grow. Can't wait to see what color it will be!

Attached are 2 babies coming from that plant.

 

Well then, I may have spoken too soon - freckles weren't visible in the original pic. The pups definitely look like every A. vera I've ever grown! If we're right about this, the flowers on the mother will be yellow.

Too bad you're in Monteal - down here they attract hummingbirds like you wouldn't believe.

 

We have hummingbirds here as well. Not downtown by the clubs but in the suburbs in the summer. They are very rare though!

On another note are you saying that it may still be A. Vera even though the sap dries to redish/purple?

 

Yup.

 

No.

The real Aloe vera does not have white spots on the leaves. It has unspotted grayish leaves, yellow flowers and the sap dries yellowish.

The "Medicene Aloe" widely grown with spotted leaves and orange flowers and often misidentifed as "Aloe vera" is an impostor.

If the sap dries purple, it is Aloe confusa. It is not one of the medicinal species.

There are several African species of Aloe with medicinal properties besides Aloe vera. Aloe succotrina, Aloe perryi and Aloe ferox immediately come to mind.