Ascleps

[Martin Bohnet]

Ascleps is short for Asclepioideae, though most of the time people actually mean either Ceropegieae or even more specialized the Subtribe of Stapeliinae, a set of stem succulent but open flowered genera. As always, lumpers try to go all in, there are papers trying to throw nearly all genera in Ceropegieae into Ceropegia - and in some respect they have been successful, like Brachystelma which has been sunken into Ceropegia on genetic evidence despite the flowers being flat and open. While Ceropegia contains some geophytes (hence the wiki page), the Stapeliineae do not, but still are a fascinating collection object.


Some are easy from seed, almost all are easy from cuttings. Easiest of all for me is Huernia - first image is possibly a hybrid and the first one i have grown from seed - a bycatch when ordering some other seeds out of pure curiosity. But of course I couldn't stop there - next one is Huernia stapeliformis, a small deep red gem. Uli then treated me to Huernia zebrina, or as I call it the chocolate donut flower, for obvious reasons. All of them are free flowering, as is the small but always multi-flowered Apteranthes europaea (former Caralluma).

A very special plant is the Tromotriche pendula, which I almost lost last winter - yes it is far more challenging then the others. Not as critical but also not easy to flower for me is Orbea hardyi.

The star of the collection is without any doubt Stapelia gigantea, which is in flower right now at a whopping 35 cm flower diameter - and it is actually one of the easier species. It even took relocation to indoors last fall without abandoning its bud - though last years flower then wasn't as big and noteably paler than this one - there are buds on the plant so maybe there's still more to come.

All of those plants are sometimes called carrion flower, but I personally don't smell a thing, even though the Stapelia did attract some flies - on the other hand I don't run from Tigridia vanhouttei

Height:	45-60 cm (1.5-2 ft)
Flower Colors:	purple, green, patterned
Life form:	deciduous bulb

or Eucomis bicolor

either, which some find offensive.

So i can't deny: the virus got me, and I have a set of other candidates already potted to hopefully flower next year. Are there any other victims of ascleps fever around?

[CG100]

Most or all Piaranthus that I have grown smell of sweaty feet, or worse.

I have never detected a smell from Hoodia, Huernia, Folotsia, Ceropegia, Orbea, Brachystelma, Caralluma, Taveresia..................`
An endlessly fascinating group of plants with mesmerising flowers

Supposedly Pseuodolithos are  smelly, but I have never grown them.

I used to be a member of the (now defunct?) IAS and grew many from seed and more from an individual back in apartheid SA who grew them in her garden.
All now gone................ :-(