Aloaceae

Trees, shrubs, and succulents, perennial, simple to sparsely branched, rhizomatous, some tuberous-thickened. Leaves simple, alternate, usually crowded at bases of stems or ends of branches, sessile; blade fleshy, margins often prickly, venation parallel. Inflorescences terminal, axillary, or lateral, spicate, racemose, or paniculate. Flowers 3-merous, short- to long-pedicellate, rarely sessile; perianth red, brown, yellow, orange, or whitish; tepals petaloid, connivent or connate basally to almost entirely into tube, sometimes fleshy; stamens sometimes 3, usually 6, exserted or included; anthers dorsifixed, dehiscence antrorse; pollen grains monosulcate; ovary 3-carpellate, placentation axile, usually with septal nectaries; style terminal; stigmas punctate, discoid, or 3-lobed. Fruits capsular, rarely baccate, dehiscence loculicidal, apical. Seeds usually winged or flattened.

Distribution

All Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, and Atlantic islands.

Discussion

Genera 5, species ca. 700 (1 genus, 2 species in the flora).

Aloaceae are closely related to and included by some authors in Liliaceae.

The juice of some Aloe species is used to make a purgative called bitter aloe; active ingredients include aloin and other anthraquinones. Additionally, the thick, mucilaginous gel of some species is widely used to treat minor thermal burns, itching, and sunburn.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Aloe

Illustrations

	Family ⠉	Taxon	Illustrator ⠉
	Aloaceae Agavaceae Agavaceae	Aloe vera Sansevieria hyacinthoides Nolina atopocarpa	Bee F. Gunn Bee F. Gunn Bee F. Gunn