ADENIUM SOMALENSE

This member of the Apocynaceae family was described by Isaac Bayley Balfour in 1888. It is found in Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, growing in a well drained soil with some water and lots of sun. It will grow up to 50 centimetres in diameter, and the stems will grow up to to five meters in height. The flowers are dark pink. Adenium somalense var. crispum, described by Emilio Chiovenda, is a smaller, more compact form with white flowers striped with red or completely red. They seems to be sold as "Adenium crispum". The genera is n amed after the Yemen city of Aden. The species name after the area it is found in; Somalia. Photo by Ferdinand Poilodan.