Ceropegia ampliata Seeds
Bushman's Pipe; Boesmanspyp
The genus Ceropegia belongs to the Asclepiadoideae sub-family within the family Apocynaceae. Species of this genus bear similarities to the carrion flowers or Stapelias. There are between 160 and 200 species worldwide and they are found widely from the Canary Islands, Africa, Madagascar, Arabia, India, Sri Lanka, southern China, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea and Queensland. It was named by Carl Linnaeus, who first described this genus in volume 1 of his Species plantarum, which appeared in 1753. Linnaeus thought that the flowers looked like a fountain of wax. From this the scientific name was derived: keros meaning wax and pege meaning fountain. They have many common names including lantern flower, parasol flower, parachute flower, bushmans pipe, string of hearts, snake creeper, wine-glass vine, rosary vine and necklace vine. Ceropegia species have attracted much attention from botanists, horticulturalists, gardeners and succulent plant enthusiasts. Numerous species are commercially available and grown as ornamental container and indoor plants. They can be propagated by seed and cuttings. Ceropegia ampliata, commonly known as Bushman's Pipe in English and Boesmanspyp in Afrikaans is a perennial twiner or scrambler with a succulent stem arising from a fleshy, tuberous rootstock. Plants occasionally branch at the nodes and can grow up to 2 m and more in length. The stems are hairless and sometimes have longitudinal grooves. The plants have fleshy tuft roots from germinating seed or fibrous roots form at the nodes where the stem touches the soil surface. Leaves are borne on terminal growth; they are very small, up to about 3 mm long, and are lanceolate or heart-shaped. The leaves are shed early and the stem is the main organ used for photosynthesis. Flowers are produced at each node, 2-4 together, opening one after the other. The corolla is tube-shaped, with segments at the end of the tube. These segments are joined at their tips to form a cage-like structure. The tube is straight or slightly curved, with an inflation at the base. The tube is pale green to white or white with green longitudinal stripes and with a narrow purple band around the mouth of the basal inflation on the inside. The corolla tube and segments are 50-70 mm long. Plants flower in summer, mainly between December and March.
