Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. (Liliaceae, or as a member of the segregate
family Aloeaceae).
First described by Carolus Linnaeus as a variety of another species (Aloe perfoliata L.) in 1753, using materials from cultivation in India and the New World, as well as European gardens.
Native to Africa; now cultivated worldwide.
Life form: woody herbaceous
perennial, sometimes tree-like.
Parts used: sticky sap of leaves used as a medicinal; crystallised sap used as a purgative (laxative).