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In Mesopotamia, clay tablets dated 1750 B.C.E. showed that aloe vera was being used in a pharmaceutical manner. Egyptian books from 550 B.C.E. mentioned that infections of the skin could be cured by the application of aloe. In 74 B.C.E., a Greek physician wrote a book in which he stated that aloe could treat wounds, heal infections of the skin, cure chapping, decrease hair loss, and eliminate hemorrhoids. Around 1200 B.C.E. aloe vera was used as a cathartic medicine. The aloe plant has yellow flowers. The leaves are arranged in a rosette configuration; they are triangular and spear-like and have thorny ridges. The most mature leaves are on the outer part of the rosette. Aloe vera was first cultivated for pharmaceutical distribution in 1920.