A. Species
Scientific name: Aloe Ferox
Common name(s): Aloe, Cape Aloe, Lucid Aloe
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- South Africa
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: South Africa
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2023
End Year: 2023
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild
Lethal or non-lethal: Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: Only parts or products of the organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, National / local private sector and International private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: Published literature
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The authors state that A. ferox tapping, which means removing leaves for bitters, doesn’t kill the plant and can provide steady income for local harvesters if done carefully and sustainably.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: Published literature
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Aloe ferox products have been used to treat a variety of diseases, restore skin tissue due to their moisturising effect, and to alleviate pain associated with burns and wounds
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
More research is required on global sales, industrial uses and conservation of Aloe ferox.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2023-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2025-07-23