Of the many memories of our amazing road trip along the Garden Route in South Africa, the one that I’m bringing you today is that of the giant Aloe tree that we saw at the House of Aloes—the original aloe factory, that was set up in 1986 with the co-operation of local farmers in Albertinia, South Africa. The quick stopover was not only great to stretch ourselves during our long drive back, but also to witness first-hand a working aloe factory and get to know more about the Cape Aloe or the Aloe Ferox.
This variety of Aloe grows wild on many South African farms— free from pesticides and artificial fertilisers, and with the highest concentration of beneficial substances available. The sheer size and the scale of this plant took us by surprise, as we had never imagined it to be this huge!
The Aloe, we learnt, is nothing short of a miracle plant. You could even call them true superheroes—and why not? They have so much magic that they can heal you if you are sick; soothe if you are burnt, disinfect your wounds, and even rejuvenate you if you are tired. The aloe is in fact, a therapeutic warrior that has been known to protect South African tribes ever since it was absorbed as a symbol of wellness on the cave walls years ago when the first humans roamed around the land.
Back home in India, we know how popular aloe is, given the multitudes of health benefits it offers, the but I’m not going into that. That will be the subject of my post another day.
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Joining Parul today for #thursdaytreelove which is a photo feature on Parul’s blog where you get to see beautiful trees from different places. If you’d like to join in, do visit her blog to know more.
11 Comments
Shilpa Nairy
Wow!! So Huge. I never thought about such huge Aloe! Interesting know about it.
Esha M Dutta
So amazing, no? I was like you when I saw it for the first time.
Archana
Omg! I did not know it could grow to this size! Besides the usual touristy stuff, travelling shows us unique flora of new places. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Esha M Dutta
I know what you mean, Archana. Most people are astounded to see the actual size of the tree. I was no different. Travel does bring a lot of new stuff along, that we don’t usually realise. Yes, happy to share. 🙂
Bellybytes
I really never imagined an aloe growing into a tree! In our part of the country, it is used on farmland as a border marker to keep out the cattle
Esha M Dutta
Yes, me too, Sunita. What a difference, no?
Parul Thakur
Oh my my! This was the most amazing thing I saw on Facebook and was super happy to know you tagged on the tree love. Thank you Esha for bringing this to us.
Also, you tagged this post to an old TTL and I knew you had joined but could not locate it 🙂 Then a bit of spying on your blog helped 🙂
Esha M Dutta
Thank you so much, Parul. So glad to know you liked the pic. But, I am so sorry I linked it to an old post, Parul. Blame it on my muddled head… I might have slipped there. Will rectify the error right away. Thanks a ton for letting me know. You know this really helps. 🙂
Corinne Rodrigues
Oh my goodness! Had no idea that they grew so tall. Amazing!
Esha M Dutta
I had the same reaction, Corinne. Couldn’t believe my eyes! Glad to see you stop by the blog. 🙂