few days, and then simply insert them into sandy soil. This species has both male and female flowers on each plant, but an individual plant is not self-fertile. The seeds germinate in semi-shade, in cool (25–35 °C), well-drained, slightly acidic sand. Traditional uses This plant was known and used medicinally by the Khoi, the oldest known inhabitants of the Cape. Later, it was one of the first plants to be cultivated by the Dutch East India Company in its "Company's Gardens". The active ingredients that are supposedly responsible for the plant's medicinal qualities are the compounds known as aloin (from the sap) as well as complex polysaccharides and glycoproteins (from the pulp). See also Biodiversity of Cape Town Index: Fynbos – habitats and species. Table Mountain National Park References Notes Asphodeloideae Endemic flora of South Africa Flora of the Cape Provinces Natural history of Cape Town Fynbos Table Mountain Vulnerable flora of Africa Plants used in traditional African medicine Creepers of South Africa Garden plants of Southern Africa Drought-tolerant plants Taxa named by Alwin Berger