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Acaulescent or caulescent, ± succulent perennials, with or without offsets, stems if present, simple or branched. Leaves usually sharp-pointed, margins sinuate-dentate, in rosettes. Racemes terminal or lateral, capitate to long-cylindrical, or inflorescence corymbose. Flowers showy, yellowish or reddish, ± zygomorphic, pedicellate, bracts scarious; segments free or connate below into curved or straight tube, lobes spreading. Stamens 6, hypogynous, included or exserted. Ovary many-seeded. Capsule oblong to sub-globose. Seeds many, often winged. Spp. c. 330, from tropical and S. Africa, Madagascar, Arabia. Adventive Sp. 1.
Leaves crowded spirally into rosettes, occasionally distichous especially in young plants, usually noticeably succulent, with colourless or often yellow, brown or purple, sometimes pungent and then sometimes poisonous sap; lamina linear, lanceolate or deltoid; base sheathing; apex usually spine-tipped; margin with spine-tipped teeth, or sometimes cartilaginous or ciliate, rarely entire; surface glabrous, smooth or roughened, sometimes the lower or both surfaces spiny, uniformly green, or often white-spotted, sometimes striated.
Inflorescence pedunculate with flowers lax to compact in 1–several terminal and axillary, simple or paniculately arranged racemes; inflorescence stalk (peduncle) stout, flattened at the base, with branches, when present, usually from ± the middle and above, naked or with sterile bracts below the racemes; racemes capitate to long-cylindrical; bracts scarious, rarely leaf-like.
Perianth of 3 outer and the 3 inner free or partially fused subequal segments, cylindrical, rarely campanulate, rounded at the base or tapering into the pedicel, sometimes constricted above the ovary, often trigonous, sometimes slightly curved, rarely 2-lipped; segments free towards the apex, imbricate, the outer usually slightly longer than the inner.
Perennial, acaulescent or caulescent herbs, shrubs or trees, solitary (not forming basal offshoots) or suckering (forming basal offshoots) to produce dense clumps or loose groups of plants.
Seeds many, in 2 longitudinal rows in each locule, 3-angled, sometimes obscurely so, the angles extended into papery wings with 2 wings distinctly longer than the third.
Capsule held erect, sometimes stipitate, very obtusely 3-angled, subglobose to oblong, papyraceous or slightly woody, dehiscing from the apex.
Ovary ovate-oblong, trigonous, 3-locular, placentation central; style slender, longer than the stamens; stigma capitate, very small.
Stamens with flattened filaments; anthers oblong, attached towards the base, exserted from the perianth-tube.
Flowers pedicellate, erect in bud, pendent at anthesis, or secund.
Roots thickened.
