Plant Anatomy and Morphology

Aloe vera is a monocot, which means the plant has one single cotyledon in the seed. Monocotyledons’ leaves have parallel veins and flower parts in multiples of 3 (so 3, 6, 9 etc). Monocotyledons also have fibrous root systems. Unlike dicotyledons, their primary vascular bundles are scattered throughout the stem, instead of being arranged in a ring. This is also shown in figure 3. 

Figure 3: Dicot vs. Monocot

On the right, a dicot stem is shown. It is clear the vascular bundles are arranged in a ring. When looking at the monocot stem on the left, you can see the vascular bundles are scattered throughout the stem.






As mentioned in my previous post, Aloe vera has a lot of species spread over the world. This means the morphology of the plant is also varied. However, I still tried to describe the morphology as best as I could. It might be repetition of my previous post, but maybe this is more clear. Again, if you have any remarks, just let me know.


Plant

I already told you the Aloe vera plant has fibrous stems, which are very short. I also mentioned some Aloe vera plants do not even have a stem, but I would like to come back to that. The stems are hard to see, because it is covered by dense leaves. It is also partially coated by the soil. 

Other species of aloe vera are trees, which can reach 3 to 5 meters. These species are to be found in North African deserts. 

Leaves

Aloe vera leaves are lance-shaped with serrated edges. The leaves are:

• Fleshy thick 
• Green or grey-greenish 
• Waxy coated on the surface 
• Equity succulent, meaning they can keep their shape due to the moist

The leaves contain water (the gel) and are flot on the top side, and rounded at the bottom side.

In young leaves of Aloe vera spots are pale green to white. When the Aloe vera grows up, the spots disappear. However, some species will not loose their spots, which is due to genetic factors. 

Figure 4: Aloe vera flower

Flowering
The Aloe vera flowers are trumpet-shaped or tube shaped of about 2-3 cm long. The color of the flower is yellow to orange and the flowers are hanging down, as is visible in figure 4. The flowers are hanging down at the end of the shaft, but the more you go up, the less they are hanging. 

Roots

Aloe vera has a fibrous root system. The root system of Aloe vera is short with root fibres that can reach 30-40 cm.