Aloe vera has been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years.

The yellow aloe is probably the only plant that is better known by its scientific name, Aloe vera, than by its common name.

It is a succulent plant that probably originated in North Africa and no wild indigenous populations can be found anywhere in the world.

It is said that this species was introduced in China and southern Europe in the 17th century. Nowadays it is naturalised in many countries including Australia, Nigeria, Mexico and the US, and is widely cultivated in various parts of the world including Australia, Bangladesh, Cuba, China, Mexico, India, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.

In the Maltese islands, it can be found in homes and gardens, but a few specimen that originated from escaped cultivated plants can be found in the countryside such as in the garigue habitat near the Pembroke military ranges.

As is common with widespread well-known species, the yellow aloe has many common names including Chinese aloe, Indian aloe, true aloe, Barbados aloe, burn aloe and first aid plant.

In Maltese it is known as sabbara, a word of Semitic origin used in some Arab countries for cacti. It is claimed that the village name of Żabbar is derived from the name of this plant, but there are other explanations for the origin of the name.

It is claimed that the village name of Żabbar is derived from the name of this plant, but there are other explanations for the origin of the name

Aloe vera has been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years. It was depicted in an Egyptian 6,000-year-old stone carving in which it was referred to as the plant of immortality. It was also mentioned in 16th century BC medical texts.

It is still very popular in herbal medicine for its rejuvenating, healing and soothing properties. It is also widely used in cosmetics, although there is still no scientific evidence for any of these properties.

Aloe vera extracts have been used as dietary supplements including as a laxative, although some uses have been banned because of possible toxicity of these products when taken internally. Some compounds found in the plant’s leaves were found to be carcinogenic in cats but not in rats.

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