RAPHIONACME MADIENSIS

This member of the Asclepiadaceae* family was described by Spencer Le Marchant Moore in 1908. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zaïre and Zimbabwe, growing in woodlands in a well drained soil with some water and some sun. The caudex can grow to 16 centimetres in diameter, the stem will grow to 20 centimetres. The flowers are green and purple.

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 the occurrence in a region inhabited by the ethnic group of the Madi in Uganda. *) Accordantly to the latest taxonomic system; APG IV 2016 is Asclepiadaceae now part of the Apocynaceae. Photo by Robert VE. Blittersdorff, astafricanplants.senckenberg.de.