Aloe

Aloe, a liliaceous genus of about 150 species, mostly natives of Africa, Arabia, and adjacent islands, with rosettes of pointed, fleshy, radical leaves or unbranched stems eight to ten feet high. The bitter resin in the leaves is a valuable purgative. The chief species are A. succotrina of Socotra, A. vulgaris, the Barbadoes Aloe, cultivated in the West Indies, and A. spicata, Cape Aloe.