Miracle Plant

Asparagales; Asphodelaceae; Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. This plant is known to many people, these days, but I think I was a teenager before I first came across the words "Aloe vera" on the label of a bottle of shampoo. I probably looked at it and thought something like "strange name for shampoo" and dismissed it. I am sure that I did not associate the name with a plant. I don't think I ever encountered the actual Aloe vera plant until I came to the Philippines where it is very common in gardens and backyards. Unlike me, when I was young, every Filipino man, woman and child knows what this plant is and probably knows where to find one. If someone has a minor burn, they simply go to the nearest Aloe vera, break off part of a leaf and apply the sap to the injured area and that's it. What's all the fuss about? They know exactly what this plant can be used for and, as far as I have observed, they seem to get cured pretty quickly. Before I talk about my pictures, I should admit that I had already opened a New Spotting page on Project Noah to start uploading my photos, the scientific name and a few words etc., when I realised that I had no idea what the common name was. I didn't think I would get away with "Aloe vera, Aloe vera". So I put everything on hold and started looking for the common name. Of course, the best place to look is Project Noah. The first spotting I opened used the common name, Aloe vera and (please don't tell anyone) I thought, that must be wrong. However, the next 6 spottings all used the same common name Aloe vera. So I was on the point of surrender, but I remembered Dr. Stuart's website - http://www.stuartxchange.org/Sabila - and there, I found many common names, including the one I have used "Miracle Plant". But the best one, by far (which I was tempted to use, but did not feel qualified) was the name given to this plant in the dialect of the Bicolano people,the fourth-largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. They call it "Dilang boaia", which translates into English as "Crocodile's Tongue". For me, that is the perfect common name for Aloe vera. Now, my photos: The first one shows the flower, slightly past its best, I should have taken the picture two days ago when it looked better. The second photo shows the whole plant, with its prickly leaves and an offshoot in front (the flower is growing on the offshoot). The third photo shows a close-up of the offshoot, taken when I was trying to find the stem. The stem (please forgive the lack of scientific terminology) is impossible to see. It is completely hidden under the thick, broad base of the leaves which grow in a kind of cluster, something akin to the way tiers of bananas grow, except upside-down. Then the last photo. An even closer picture taken when I was trying to see how the offshoot is attached to the main plant. The whitish part in the middle is the "branch-stem" of the offshoot, which comes out from the base of the main stem to form what is more or less a new plant. I am told that the offshoot will take root in the soil and if the "branch-stem" is then cut through, you will end up with two plants. Sorry, no science here, but I'm sure you get the idea.