Aloe

For other uses, see Aloe (disambiguation).

Aloe
Aloe arborescens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asphodelaceae
Subfamily: Asphodeloideae
Tribe: Aloeae
Genus: Aloe
L.[1]
Type species
Aloe perfoliata
L.
Species

See Species

Synonyms[1]
List
  • Agriodendron Endl.
  • × Alamaealoe P.V.Heath
  • × Alchamaloe G.D.Rowley
  • × Aleptoe G.D.Rowley
  • × Allauminia G.D.Rowley
  • × Allemeea P.V.Heath
  • × Aloella G.D.Rowley
  • Aloinella (A.Berger) Lemée
  • × Aloptaloe P.V.Heath
  • Atevala Raf.
  • × Bleckara P.V.Heath
  • Busipho Salisb.
  • Chamaealoe A.Berger
  • × Chamaeleptaloe Rowley
  • Guillauminia A.Bertrand
  • × Lemeea P.V.Heath
  • × Leminia P.V.Heath
  • Leptaloe Stapf
  • × Leptaloinella G.D.Rowley
  • × Leptauminia G.D.Rowley
  • × Lomataloe Guillaumin
  • Lomatophyllum Willd.
  • Pachidendron Haw.
  • Phylloma Ker Gawl.
  • Rhipidodendrum Willd.
Succulent plants, such as this aloe, store water in their enlarged fleshy leaves, stems, or roots, as shown in this split aloe leaf. This allows them to survive in arid environments.
Aloe Vera houseplant
Spikes on an Aloe Vera houseplant

Aloe (/ˈæloʊ, ˈæloʊi, əˈloʊi/;[2][3][4][5] also written Aloë) is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.[6] The most widely known species is Aloe vera, or "true aloe". It is called this because it is cultivated as the standard source for assorted pharmaceutical purposes.[7] Other species, such as Aloe ferox, are also cultivated or harvested from the wild for similar applications.[8]

The APG IV system (2016) places the genus in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae. Within the subfamily it may be placed in the tribe Aloeae.[9] In the past, it has been assigned to the family Aloaceae (now included in the Asphodeloidae) or to a broadly circumscribed family Liliaceae (the lily family). The plant Agave americana, which is sometimes called "American aloe", belongs to the Asparagaceae, a different family.

The genus is native to tropical and southern Africa, Madagascar, Jordan, the Arabian Peninsula, and various islands in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Réunion, Comoros, etc.). A few species have also become naturalized in other regions (Mediterranean, India, Australia, North and South America, Hawaiian Islands, etc.).[1]

  1. ^ a b c "Aloe". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Definition of ALOE". 9 August 2023.
  3. ^ "aloe noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  4. ^ "ALOE | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. ^ "The American Heritage Dictionary entry: Aloe".
  6. ^ WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022
  7. ^ "Aloe Vera: Science and Safety". NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. April 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  8. ^ Salehi, Bahare; Albayrak, Sevil; Antolak, Hubert; Kręgiel, Dorota; Pawlikowska, Ewelina; Sharifi-Rad, Mehdi; Uprety, Yadav; Tsouh Fokou, Patrick Valere; Yousef, Zubaida; Amiruddin Zakaria, Zainul; Varoni, Elena Maria (2018-09-19). "Aloe Genus Plants: From Farm to Food Applications and Phytopharmacotherapy". International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 19 (9): 2843. doi:10.3390/ijms19092843. ISSN 1422-0067. PMC 6163315. PMID 30235891.
  9. ^ Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards). "Asphodelaceae". Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Retrieved 2016-06-09.