aloe

noun

• 1a succulent plant with a rosette of thick tapering leaves and bell-shaped or tubular flowers on long stems, native to the Old World.

  • Genus Aloe, family Liliaceae (or Aloaceae)
• (aloes or bitter aloes) [mass noun] a strong laxative obtained from the bitter juice of various kinds of aloe.
• (also American aloe)another term for century plant.

• 2 (also aloes wood) [mass noun] the fragrant heartwood of a tropical Asian tree.

  • The tree belongs to the genus Aquilaria, family Thymelaeaceae, in particular A. agallocha
• the resin obtained from aloes wood, used in perfume, incense, and medicine.