CEROPEGIA VARTAKII

This member of the Asclepiadaceae* family was given this name by Peter Vincent Bruyns in 2017. It is found in Kerala; south-western India, growing in a well drained soil with some water and some to lots of sun. The caudex can grow from 1,5 to 5,5 centimetres in diameter, the entire plant from eight to 40 centimetres in height. The flowers are faint pink outside and yellowish white to whitish pinkish inside.

The genera name is from the Greek word keropegion meaning 'candelabrum', because Linnaeus thought that the flowers looked like candles. The species name after professor V. D. Vartak, an Indian taxonomist. *)Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG IV 2016, Asclepiadaceae is now part of the Apocynaceae.