Medicinal Monday American Aloe

Native Americans lived a life of natural dependence on the forests, plains, and coastal regions. Some herbal remedies are used today. One such plant is Aloe Vera which Native Americans used to soothe and heal the skin as well as to hydrate and protect it from harsh climates. Many Native American communities referred to aloe as the "Wand of Heaven," because they believed the plant's health and moisturizing properties came from heaven.

About American Aloe Vera

Agave Americana commonly called "American Aloe" is not related to the genus Aloe as it is in the family Asparagaceae and native to Mexico and the southern United States. This plant typically lives 10 to 30 years.  American aloe has a rosette of broad sword-like succulent gray-green leaves with sharp spines and a heavy spike at the tip. The leaves can grow up to six feet long. Near the end of its life, it sends up a tall stalk that has many yellow blossoms on it that can reach a total height of 30 feet.

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

The sap has long been used as a binding agent for various powders and as a poultice on wounds. The sap was also taken internally to treat diarrhea and dysentery. An infusion of the leaves was used as a disinfectant and tonic for loss of hair.

For the Apache, this plant was a source of food. They harvested the heads and young leaves of this plant and either sun-dried them or roasted them. They were either consumed immediately or stored. They also baked and crushed the roots and tubers and fermented them into an intoxicating drink (mezcal). The Yuma, Ute, Comanche, Mohave, and Paiute also considered this plant an important source of food and would roast the tubers and eat them.  The Papago would eat the central flowering stalks as greens in the spring as they were emerging. The flower stalks were also roasted year-round and eaten as greens. The plant was also pit-baked and stored in jars and traded as a delicacy. The Pima boiled the juice extracted from the plant and used it as a syrup. They also roasted and ate the head of the plant. The heart of this plant is rich in saccharine and is sweet and nutritious but fibrous.

Did You Know...

American Alo is also called the century plant or maguey.

American aloe attracts hummingbirds and birds and is deer resistant.

American aloe is cultivated as an ornamental plant and is popular in dry beach gardens in Florida and California.

The plant figures on the coat of arms of Don Diego de Mendoza, a Native American governor of Ajacuba, Hidalgo.

The Aztecs processed the leaves to create paper.