Aloe | |
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Aloe arborescens | |
Scientific 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.
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Species | |
See Species | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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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]