h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Prehistoric hyenas: http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/...lemvdMerwe/Hyenas2b_zps72c6b4a3.jpg

Aloe flowering in my garden - whole plant: http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/...erwe/Aloewickensii1_zps36ac8c27.jpg

Close-up of flower: http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/...erwe/Aloewickensii2_zps47a9f54a.jpg

Beestebal, Crassula arborescens, in flower: http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/...rassulaarborescens1_zpsb9ccb6a6.jpg

(The red flowers are Kleinia fulgens)

Skink on some Crassula perfoliata, ambushing the insects coming to visit the Beestebal: http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/...illemvdMerwe/Skink1_zpscbb27c78.jpg

Close-up of skink: http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/...illemvdMerwe/Skink2_zps5a3061f6.jpg

That's a striped skink, Mabuya striata ... dozens of them (at least!) in my garden. They're very adaptable.

Sorry Willem, none of your links are opening.

I am getting queries about i360.photobucket.com


lil x

I couldn't open them either . I wanta see them.

..... "Safari can't open the page
.............. too many redirect occurred ......................'

Also: And Firefox says:
"The page isn't redirecting properly.
Firefox has detected that the server is redirecting the request for this address in a way that will never complete"

Sorry - I think I know what I did wrong, let me try again.


Prehistoric hyenas:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Hyenas2b_zps72c6b4a3.jpg

Aloe wickensii flowering in my garden:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Aloewickensii1_zps36ac8c27.jpg

Close-up of Aloe wickensii flower:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Aloewickensii2_zps47a9f54a.jpg

Crassula arborescens or Beestebal flowering:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Crassulaarborescens1_zpsb9ccb6a6.jpg

Skink ambushing insects visiting crassula flowers:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Skink1_zpscbb27c78.jpg

Close-up of skink:

http://i360.photobucket.com/albums/oo45/WillemvdMerwe/Skink2_zps5a3061f6.jpg

Yes! That's much better


lil x

Those look great

Great! ... The aloe plant, is that what I would call the 'aloe vera' ?
I had one on my window sill that had grown from a very tiny thing and one summer I did not bring it inside in time in the fall and it died.
It never bloomed. I did not know if it would. I would think that there are more than one kind...

Glad they work now! Gingersnapper, there are over 500 known species of aloe! Aloe vera is just one of these species and it occurs in Arabia and thereabout. In South Africa alone there are more than a hundred species and they vary from tiny (8" high) to huge (60' tall).

I never dreamed there were that many species ! !. and 60ft tall, whow ! ... What a sight & does it bloom ?
I guess I better get busy and 'Google it'
My questions .. How many bloom ?
and I have read that not all of them are good to break off a piece of the plant to put on ones skin ??

Here are pictures of the biggest one, Aloe barberae:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aloe_bainesii.JPG

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aloe_barberae_flowers.JPG

Like I said, it can reach 60 ft in height and can also have a trunk 10 ft in diameter. The flowers are pretty, but not very conspicuous most of the time since they are borne high at the tips of the branches. But on a small specimen they will show prettily. This aloe can easily be grown from cuttings.

The majority of the aloes have conspicuous flowers that can be yellow, orange, pink or red, cream, brown, or rarely whitish or greenish. I'll post some more photos of mine, there are now some Aloe castanea, Aloe peglerae and Aloe spicata coming into flower. I think I have more than thirty species here.

Aloe vera is the one that you can use for treating sunburn or irritated or chafed skin. I don't know if any of the other species have similar healing features - perhaps, but perhaps only a few of them and I don't know which ones.