Aloe isn"t just that itch-relief ooze you buy at the supermarket. Aloes are some of the most splendid succulent plants in nature, coming in many shapes and colors. While the rubbery, gel-filled leaves of most aloe plants are long and spear-shaped, those of the pictured Aloe polyphylla species are stout and tightly set—one of many examples in nature of a near-perfect spiral. Commonly called spiral aloe, it"s a coveted garden plant with specific growing conditions that make it hard to keep alive. Even in nature it"s rare and native only to the chilly mountains of Lesotho, a tiny kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa.
Why, aloe there
Today in History
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St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland
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New Zealand s loneliest mountain
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Casting a vote for women s history
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Antarctica Day
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Basking in the glow
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It’s Endangered Species Day
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A red knot on the Shetland Islands, Scotland
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World Rivers Day
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The Sky Over Nine Columns in Venice, Italy
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The largest American bison around
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The Cathedral of Florence, Italy
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Mooncake time
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A national icon
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Vacuum Chamber 5 at Glenn Research Center
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Life in the slow lane
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Alpine marmots at Hohe Tauern National Park, Austria
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Rock House in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio
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Going with the floe
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Giving Tuesday
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World Book Day
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It s leap day!
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Brown-throated three-toed sloth in cecropia tree, Costa Rica
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Social climbing
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An oceanic valentine
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Great on so many levels
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It’s World Migratory Bird Day
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Spring awakens
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Road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii
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Diamond Beach, Iceland
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Where can you find a red fox?