CEROPEGIA SALDANHAE

This member of the Asclepiadaceae* family was given this name by Peter Vincent Bruyns in 2017. It is found near Salem in southern India, growing in grit or another well drained soil with quite some water and lots of sun. The caudex can grow from two to four centimetres in diameter, the entire plant from five to ten or even 20 centimetres in height. The flowers are yellow and purple to brown.

The genera name is from the Greek word keropegion meaning 'candelabrum', because Linnaeus thought that the flowers looked like candles. The species name after Cecil J. Saldanha, 1926-2002, founder and director of the Centre for Taxonomic Studies in Banglalore. *)Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG IV 2016, Asclepiadaceae is now part of the Apocynaceae.