RAPHIONACME DYERI

This member of the Asclepiadaceae* family was given this name by Elizabeth Retief and Hendrik Johannes Tjaart Venter in 1983. It is found in central and eastern South Africa and Zimbabwe, growing in a sandy or clayish soil with some water and some to lots of sun. The caudex can grow to ten centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to fifteen centimetres in height. The flowers are purplish-green on the outside and bright magenta-purple with a yellowish-green edge inside.

The genera name from Greek rhaphis; 'beet-root' and akme; 'sharpness' possibly referring to the taste of the roots - haven't tried yet. The species name for Dr. Robert A. Dyer, 1900-1987, a South African botanist, working with succulents. *)Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG IV 2016, Asclepiadaceae is now part of the Apocynaceae.