Aloe (Aloë), a genus of plants of considerable medicinal importance, belonging to the natural order Liliaceæ (q.v.), sub-order Aloineæ. There are about 200 species, of which 170 are indigenous to the Cape Colony. The species all have stems, but vary in height from a few inches to 30 feet. They have permanent succulent leaves. The negroes of the west coast of Africa make cords and nets of the fibres of their leaves, and stockings are woven from the fibres of a species found in Jamaica. But aloes are chiefly valuable for their medicinal properties. The well-known drug called Aloes (see below) is the inspissated juice of the leaves of several almost tree-like species, and particularly of A. socotrina, perryi, purpurascens, spicata, fruticosa, and indica.
A. vulgaris is found in the East and West Indies, in Italy, and in some of the islands of the Mediterranean, being the only species which can be reckoned European, although it also is probably an introduced plant. The American Aloe is a totally different plant (see AGAVE). The aloes of the Bible was the wood of a tree (see next article).—The juice of aloes was anciently used in embalming, to preserve dead bodies from putrefaction. In the East Indies, it is employed as a varnish to prevent the attacks of insects. A beautiful violet colour is obtained from the leaves of the Socotrine aloe, which also affords a fine transparent colour for miniature painting.