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Low toxicity💊 Medicinal

🌵 Cape aloe (Bitter aloe)

Aloe ferox · Asphodelaceae (Xanthorrhoeaceae)

🌍 Africa🏜️ Desert
🧠 To remember it“Tall stem, spines all over the leaf, very bitter sap” — bitter aloe is the robust, purgative cousin of aloe vera.
Cape aloe (Bitter aloe) — Aloe ferox

🔍 Identify it without mistakes

Large single-stemmed South African aloe, often covered with the dried remains of its old leaves, bearing a rosette of thick leaves armed with reddish spines on both surfaces — significantly more robust and spiky than aloe vera. Its upright, tall, bright red-orange inflorescence stands out against the arid hills of the Karoo during the austral winter.

  1. single, robust stem, often clothed in dried dead leaves hanging down the trunk
  2. thick leaves in a rosette, edged with distinct reddish spines on both surfaces (not just the margins)
  3. bitter yellow sap that flows immediately as soon as a leaf is cut
  4. bright red-orange upright inflorescence, reaching over 2-3 m, highly visible from afar in austral winter
Size2-3 m (up to 5 m with inflorescence)
Floweringaustral winter (June-August), large dense red-orange flower spike
Habitatrocky hills and semi-arid areas of southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini), sometimes forming dense stands on exposed slopes

⚠️ Not to be confused with

Aloe vera (true aloe) (Aloe vera)none (both are used medicinally, but with different uses and precautions)

To tell them apart: Aloe ferox is significantly larger, with a clearly visible single stem often covered in dead leaves, prominent spines on both surfaces of the leaves, and a very bitter yellow sap (aloin); Aloe vera remains lower, often stemless or short-stemmed, with spines limited to leaf edges and a much less bitter inner gel

💊 Healing with it

la sève jaune amère séchée (« Cape aloes ») est utilisée depuis plus de 250 ans comme laxatif stimulant puissant ; le gel de la pulpe interne des feuilles est aussi utilisé en usage externe pour apaiser la peau, dans la même logique que l'aloe vera

Level of evidence : limited studies — ScienceDirect — Cape aloes: a review of the phytochemistry, pharmacology and commercialisation of Aloe ferox

⚠️ internal laxative use should be limited to short periods; contraindicated during pregnancy, in inflammatory bowel disease, or in children; prolonged use of aloin-based laxatives can cause potassium loss and bowel dependence

🪓 Other bushcraft uses

  • commercial export of dried sap ('Cape aloes') to Europe since the 18th century, one of southern Africa's oldest plant export industries
  • pulp gel used in local cosmetics for skin and hair
Sources (2)

No entry replaces a certain identification in the field, or medical advice. When in doubt: don't eat it. If ingestion is suspected: poison control or 112/911.