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Glite Dictionary
cape aloe

cape aloe

8.2
A South African plant with thick, reddish, prickly leaves and many branches used for medicine
  • noun
  • /keɪp ˈɑːloʊ/
  • South African
translation icon : aloe de Cabo
  • The bitter sap of cape aloe is thought to have potent laxative properties.

Examples

  • Cape aloe is cultivated both for its ornamental value and its medicinal uses.

  • Some herbal remedies include extracts from cape aloe leaves.

  • The cape aloe is known for its healing properties.

  • Many people use cape aloes to treat skin irritations.

  • Cape aloe is cultivated both for its ornamental value and its medicinal uses.

  • Some herbal remedies include extracts from cape aloe leaves.

  • The bitter sap of cape aloe is thought to have potent laxative properties.

Synonyms

Aloe ferox
vscape aloe
  • South African
8.9

A South African plant with many thick spiky leaves used as medicine

is the common name for the same plant rather than the species term

Surface Forms

cape aloe singular
cape aloes plural

Morphology

cape + aloe

The noun is transparently built from 'aloe' (a medicinal succulent) and 'cape' as a location/type marker, so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes an aloe associated with the Cape region. This location+noun naming pattern is a regular, cross-linguistic way to form plant names, making the meaning predictable for B1 learners.

Etymology

The name cape aloe may come from early sailors and settlers who found a large aloe growing near the Cape and so called it the cape aloe, meaning the aloe from that place. So today cape aloe names the South African plant with thick, spiky leaves and bitter sap 'used for medicine'.