Ceropegia stapeliiformis explained

Ceropegia stapeliiformis is a flowering plant in the genus Ceropegia (Apocynaceae), native to South Africa and Eswatini. Common names include serpent ceropegia, snake creeper, and slangkambro.

Ceropegia stapeliiformis is a prostrate, creeping, trailing or climbing succulent creeper^[1] with fibrous roots (which develop where the warty, trailing stems^[2] touch the ground) and has clear sap.^[3] The leaves are minute and rudimentary, soon falling off the stems. The flowers are 5–7 cm long and have a distinctive funnel or flask-shape,^[4] which create a pitfall in which pollinators may be temporarily trapped.^[5] The stapeliiformis has a greenish white colour that is spotted or streaked with maroon.^[6] The petals surrounding the mouth are free-spreading, reflexed and fringed with hairs. The fruit a follicle with tubercles. This species is usually found rooted in leaf mould under the protection of shrubs.

Two subspecies have been described:

• Ceropegia stapeliiformis subsp. stapeliiformis
• Ceropegia stapeliiformis subsp. serpentina (E.A.Bruce) R.A.Dyer

The subspecies stapeliiformis is known from areas of karroid scrub in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, with a distribution from Uitenhage and Willowmore to Graaff Reinet and King William's Town. This subspecies is known to flower from October to March.

The subspecies serpentina, which was initially described as Ceropegia serpentina by E. A. Bruce, has a distribution which ranges from Northern KwaZulu-Natal and Eswatini to Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces of South Africa, where it occurs in scrub bush. The flowering time from December to March.

The names have the derivations stapeliiformis = resembling Stapelia (Latin), and serpentina = serpentine (Latin).

References

• (treats as a distinct species)
• Dyer, R.A. 1983. Ceropegia, Brachystelma and Riocreuxia in Southern Africa. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.
• Herbert F. J. Huber: Revision of the genus Ceropegia. In: Memórias da Sociedade Broteriana, Volume 12, 1957, S.1-203, Coimbra

Notes and References

1. Book: Illustrated handbook of succulent plants. 5: Asclepiadaceae . 2004 . Springer . 978-3-642-56370-6 . Albers . Focke . 1. ed., corr. 2. print. . Berlin Heidelberg.
2. Book: Smith, Gideon . Field Guide to Succulents of Southern Africa . Penguin Random House South Africa . 2017 . 9781775843689.
3. Book: Sims, John . Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Or, Flower-garden Displayed: In which the Most Ornamental Foreign Plants, Cultivated in the Open Ground, the Green-house, and the Stove, are Accurately Represented in Their Natural Colours...Volume 64 . original from Harvard University . 1837.
4. Ollerton . Jeff . Masinde . Siro . Meve . Ulrich . Picker . Mike . Whittington . Andrew . 2009-06-15 . Fly pollination in Ceropegia (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae): biogeographic and phylogenetic perspectives . Annals of Botany . 103 . 9 . 1501–1514 . 10.1093/aob/mcp072. free . 2701756 .
5. Auttama . Phakpoom . Kidyoo . Aroonrat . McKey . Doyle . September 2018 . Flowering phenology and trap pollination of the rare endemic plant Ceropegia thaithongiae in montane forest of northern Thailand . Botany . 96 . 9 . 601–620 . 10.1139/cjb-2018-0045.
6. Book: Keen, Bill . CACTI AND SUCCULENTS: Step-by-Step to Growing Success . Crowood . 2011 . 9781847973504.