Ceropegia ampliata Seeds - Bushman`s Pipe - Indigenous Perennial Caudex Succulent Vine

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, known as a caudex. 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.