ABSTRACT
South Africa is a culturally and botanically diverse country. There is a long history of commercializing indigenous resources in South Africa. The use of indigenous resources and wildcrafting of medicines by the early European settlers was unavoidable, and this contributed to the spreading of knowledge on useful plants beyond precolonial margins. Aloe ferox has the longest history of commercial use in South Africa, and it is used in cosmetics, food additives, hygiene products, and complementary medicines. The chapter discusses aloe species in general and specifically Aloe ferox whose modern commercial trade dates back to the arrival of Dutch settlers in the Cape in the seventeenth century. Aloe ferox has been on the market for over 250 years during which time the main product has been the bitters. The commercialization of Aloe ferox can be traced back to the mid-1700s when the species started being cultivated and exported by Dutch settlers in what is Cape Town.
