Aloe Vera

i took a walk in my backyard this afternoon and stumbled upon a plant with large thick leaves and seems to look spiky in a way. it was my mum's aloe vera. she has had this plant for years or as long as i can remember, sitting in a large pot. she really likes this plant for its medicinal uses. now days, you can find aloe vera as lotion, lip balms, creams, in lollies, foods and drinks.

inside the aloe vera, there are more leaves forming within the middle

it comes from the Xanthorrhoeaceae family and is known as a succulent plant. aloe vera can grow in just about any climate, from tropical to arid and all those in between. it can handle some shade and full sunlight as well. it deals with wind very well and is extremely drought tolerant because it usually stores most of the water it collects into its thick leaves and saves it for when it really needs to most. 

No one really knows where it originated from, but has been found in Asian, Europe, North Africa, Spain and the Canary Islands. it is stemless and grows in clumps with thick leaves arranged as upright rosettes and produces yellow flowers.

my mum's crazy collection, she use to have one large one and then the large one started forming more and now there are heaps of small ones living in a few pots

aloe vera also does come in different shapes and forms as a lot of other plants do, either being a lighter or draker green or even having spot along the bottom end of the leaves.

:)

Source: The University of Melbourne Burnley Plant Guide