Aloe Vera first appeared under the name "Lu Association" in the Tang Dynasty's *Materia Medica*. In ancient texts, the character "Lu" referred to a vessel used for cooking over a fire, and its meaning was later extended to signify the color black.
This part of the name was derived from the color of the medicinal ingredient, while the character "hui" means "to gather," referring to the ingredient being "the condensed resinous tears of a plant," alluding to how it forms.
The *Kai Bao Bencao* from the Song Dynasty records: "Lu Association... is also known by other names. It is commonly called Elephant Gallbladder, for its taste is as bitter as gallbladder." This indicates that Aloe Vera had other names, including some that were likely phonetic transliterations, while the name Elephant Gallbladder was derived from the ingredient's bitter taste.
By the Ming Dynasty, the written name for the medicinal Aloe Vera was not yet standardized.
