Aloe ferox Mill.
Bitter aloe, red aloe, cape aloe
The name of this species, ferox, refers to the “ferociousness” of the fiery flowers and the sharp, unforgiving leaves. It is native to South Africa, and not found in the wild in North America.
Plants: Treelike in shape, with a stem clothed in dead aloe leaves, and reach 10′ (3 m) in height.
Leaves: Bluish-green, with leaf tips sometimes appearing red in very dry weather. Leaves are serrated and crescent-shaped in cross section, forming a rosette atop a trunk.
Flowers: Tall yellow to orange-red spikes 2–4′ (60–121 cm) above the leaf cluster. Each spike contains up to eight dense cylindrical racemes 1½–2½′ (50–80 cm) in size. There are five to ten flower stalks per aloe.
Fruits: Seeds are “extremely small.” That’s it, that’s all I can find.
Habitats: Rocky areas on hills, in grassy shrublands and desert edges.
Medical: Unsubstantiated health claims abound for this plant. The only substantiated one that I could find was that it compared reasonably well with senna-based preparations as a laxative. As an example of the dubious claims about Aloe ferox:
”Over 130 biological active compounds of the aloe ferox have so far been reported. The Aloe ferox leaf contains substances such as amino acids, minerals, vitamins, polysaccharides, glycoproteins, anthraquinones, enzymes, lignin, chlorophyll, saponins, sterols and other plant chemicals with numerous medicinal activities.”
Sounds impressive, right? At least until you consider the fact that every single one of these substances is part of all plants! These are among the more common of the roughly 30,000 compounds that are found in a typical plant. (If you’re a professional botanist with a tendency to nitpick, you may be thinking ‘Wait! Anthraquinone! That’s not in every plant.’ True, though it is hard to see how a substance that is used as a building block in the creation of certain artificial dyes would make you healthier.)
Online References:
2/26/2010 · San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California 
ID is uncertain 
2/24/2010 · San Diego (Quail) Botanic Garden, Encinitas, California 
2/24/2010 · San Diego (Quail) Botanic Garden, Encinitas, California 
This is a hybrid. · 5/25/2009 · Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, Arizona · ≈ 3 × 4½′ (97 × 146 cm) 
1/5/2026 · South Africa · By Benjamin Winslow 
7/4/1998 · Antigua ID is uncertain 
4/11/1979 · Huntington Library Desert Garden, San Marino, California ID is uncertain 
2/26/2010 · San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California ID is uncertain 
1/5/2026 · South Africa · By Benjamin Winslow 
4/11/1979 · Huntington Library Desert Garden, San Marino, California ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family |
| Subclass | Liliidae | Includes lilies, orchids, and many others |
| Order | Asparagales | A diverse group that includes asparagus |
| Family | Xanthorrhoeaceae | Aloes, many tropical plants, flax lilies, daylilies, many others |
| Genus | Aloe | Means “goddess” in ancient Sanskrit, for its reputed use as a beauty aid; some sources suggest that the name comes from Alloeh, meaning “shining bitter substance” |
| Species | ferox | Ferocious, very thorny |
Aloe ferox description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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