Aloaceae - Aloe family

Succulent perennial herbs, some attaining the height of small trees. Stems present or 0. Leaves succulent, often stiff, distichous, borne in rosettes, ovate-acuminate and with a sharp-pointed tip and with hard-toothed or spiny margins. Inflorescence a simple or compound raceme. Bracts scarious, persistent. Flowers bisexual, often zygomorphic, pedicellate. Perianth of 6 lobes, tubular, red, orange, yellow, white or green; tube cylindric; lobes short, fused below, triangular. Stamens 6. Ovary superior, 3-locular. Fruit a 3-angled capsule. Seeds irregularly angled, often winged.

Worldwide: 6? genera and c.500 species, tropics and especially S Africa, Madagascar, Arabia and Canary Isles.