Aloe vera

Aloe vera is a stemless succulent that forms a rosette of thick, grey-green, spear-shaped leaves edged with soft pale teeth. Originally from the Arabian Peninsula, it is now grown all over the warm and mild parts of the world for its clear leaf gel and is fully hardy outdoors in frost-free maritime climates like the Azores.

• The clear inner gel is about 99% water, which is why a single leaf feels so heavy.
• Just under the skin sits a bitter yellow sap called aloin, traditionally used as a strong laxative and quite different from the soothing gel.
• No truly wild population is known for certain — the species has been carried and planted by people for thousands of years.

Care
Give it full sun and gritty, free-draining soil, and water deeply but only once the soil has dried right out, since soggy roots are the usual cause of death.