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Aloe ferox
Also called Bitter Aloe, Cape Prickly Aloe, Common Aloe, Cultivated Aloe, Medicinal Aloe, New Aloes, Red Aloe
Aloe ferox is a tall, single-stemmed succulent from southern Africa, growing up to about 3 m, with spiny rosette leaves and orange or red flowers. It is grown in full sun with sharp drainage, and it tolerates dry, rocky conditions well.
Aloe ferox, commonly known as bitter aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. This woody aloe is indigenous to southern Africa.
It is one of several Aloe species used to make bitter aloes, a purgative medication, and also yields a non-bitter gel that can be used in cosmetics.
Aloe ferox is known by several names - most commonly as the bitter aloe, but also as the Cape aloe, red aloe and tap aloe.
Aloe ferox plants are propagated mainly from seed and head cuttings, with plants sowed with approximately one meter separations. From seed, it takes about 4 to 5 years for the plants to reach the first harvest. At the time of harvest, each leaf weighs about 1.5 kg to 2 kg. Aloe ferox prefers dry-tropical climates, open areas, sandy-loamy soils, full sun, and moderate watering with a good drainage system.
Its large natural range forms a near-continuous band across the Northernmost region Limpopo province, southern Cape, from Swellendam and the Overberg District in the west, throughout almost the whole extent of the Eastern Cape Province, eastwards as far as southern KwaZulu-Natal, and northwards into the southern parts of the Free State and Lesotho.
Aloe aaata · Aloe aageodonta · Aloe abyssicola · Tent Cent Aloe · Spotted Aloe · African Aloe · White Grass Aloe · Aloe albiflora · Aldabra Aloe · Aloe ambigens · Aloe andongensis · Wylliespoort Aloe
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aloe ferox by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
