CEROPEGIA PAPILLATA

This member of the Asclepiadaceae* family was given this name by Nicholas Edward Brown in 1898. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, Zaire, Zimbabwe and Zambia, growing in a well drained soil with some water and some sun. The caudex can grow to three centimetres or more, the vines to one or even three meter. Often sold as Ceropegia meyeri-johannis and Ceropegia verdicikii.

The genera name is from the Greek word keropegion meaning 'candelabrum', because Linnaeus thought that the flowers looked like candles. The species name means 'having wart or nipple-like gland'. *)Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG IV 2016, Asclepiadaceae is now part of the Apocynaceae. Photo by Hildor Hoffmann.