Classifying and Naming Crops

Description

Aloe Vera is a plant with no or a very short stem. It will grow around 80 till 100 cm tall, spreading offsets and root sprouts. The leaves of Aloe vera are shaped like a lance, thick and fleshy. The color is green to grey-green, with serrated edges. The flowers are produced on a spike, up to 90 cm tall and are hanging down, with a tube shaped corolla of 2-3 cm long. The tissue in the center of the aloe leaf contains a gel, which is named aloe vera gel. In figure 2, a picture of it is shown. A fun fact: I use this gel for my face and it clears my skin. For the people who want to give it a try: Just cut open one of the leaves and apply the gel on your face. Wash it off after a while.

Figure 2: Aloe vera gel 

Classifying and Naming Crops

In this part, I will describe the taxonomy of Aloe vera. It was very difficult to find out the scientific name of the plant, but later I found out it has numerous scientific names, since Aloe on its own is a large family. Some scientific names of the plant are: Aloe Barbadensis Miller, Aloe Africana, Aloe Socotrina and Aloe ferox. The plant is of the kingdom Plantae, which is a main classification of living organisms that include all plants. In short, all plants are of the kingdom Plantae. [iloveindia]

Further taxonomy:

Botanical Name(s): Aloe Barbadensis, Aloe Indica, Aloe Barbados, Aloe Vera
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Aloaceae
Genus: Aloe L.
Species: Aloe Vera
[iloveindia]

Usage

Aloe vera is a plant that has a great potential in not only the therapeutic field, but also in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic field. The plant is used in medicine, shampoos, creams and oils. It is known as a miracle plant, especially in India. A lot of Indian people just apply the raw gel of the plant to their skin. As mentioned before, I do it too. And it works, believe me.