Always referred to as a healing plant Aloe vera will sit comfortably on any windowsill.
Not only is it handy indoors to soothe any kitchen or sunburns, this succulent will purify the air of formaldehyde and benzene, found in varnishes, floor finishes, and detergents.
They last for years and years and ‘pup’ regularly so that you will be able to naturally grow as many as you need to.
Now, Aloe vera is not a cactus and is more closely related to Asparagus than to any of the cactus family but it does love to live in heat and even though it will survive drought conditions, that doesn’t mean that it likes it.
Their particular version of photosynthesis means that they will only release tiny amounts of water at night when the gulp down the carbon dioxide voraciously.
Aloin is the bitter principle of the plant and it sits just below the underside of the leaf skin. Be careful not to include the dark or deep yellow gel when you are collecting the latex as we describe above.
If you are an avid fan of the Italian Amaro liquers like Averna, Ramazzotti, Lucano, and Montenegro then you will probably enjoy a little of the Aloin as it is a common ingredient in that particular style of beverage.
You really don’t want to include the bitter taste into your extraction, accidentally..
Although Aloe vera has been used as an ingredient in laxative formulations for centuries it has no legal credibility as no pharmaceutical companies have bothered to demonstrate it’s properties using ‘acceptable’ methods of testing.