Aloe

al′ō, n. a genus of plants of considerable medicinal importance, of the 200 species of which as many as 170 are indigenous to the Cape Colony.—The so-called American Aloe is a totally different plant (see Agave ).— adj. Al′oed , planted or shaded with aloes.—The Aloes wood of the Bible was the heart-wood of Aquilaria ovata and Aquilaria Agallochum , large spreading trees. The wood contains a dark-coloured, fragrant, resinous substance, much prized for the odour it diffuses in burning. [The word was used erroneously in the Septuagint and New Testament as a translation of the Heb. ahālīm , ahālōth (Gr. agalloch on ), an aromatic resin or wood—called later in Gr. xylaloē , from which descend lignum aloes , lign-aloes , wood-aloes , and aloes-wood .—A.S. aluwan —L. aloē —Gr. aloē .]