Aloe is a very common ingredient in all kinds of skin care products, and it grows in many gardens around Barbados (my own included), and wild in some parts of the island. Locally made soaps and body lotions may contain local aloe.
As with most succulents, aloe is very easy to grow, and it flourishes with little or no care. Aloe stalks are barbed along the edges and, though the sap is healing, it also stains clothes and skin a dark yellow-brown colour. The sap also has a funky oniony smell.
Aloe flowers appear on a long stalk and are very attractive to bees and wasps. The plant is usually 18 - 24 inches in height and spreads outwards quite quickly. If you can safely get at a sucker, just stick it in a pot and it will grow.
If you’d like to read more about Barbados, please visit my other blog, Things Barbados.
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