Aloe bulbillifera gets its name from the bulbils produced freely near the bracts at the base of the flowers. This species is stemless, the leaves forming a dense rosette from which the flowering spikes emerge in mid-winter (mid-summer in its native Madagascar). The brilliant red flowers are attractive to the Madagascarian equivalent of hummingbirds. The origin of the Aloe genus name is unclear, with Greek and Hebrew allal (bitter) and Arabic alloch (bitter) all contenders.