''Ceropegia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of plants within the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of the ...

, native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, southern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.Flora of China Vol. 16 Page 266 吊灯花属 diao deng hua shu ''Ceropegia'' Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 211. 1753.
/ref> It was named by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, who first described this genus in his ''Genera plantarum'', which appeared in 1737. Linnaeus referred to the description and picture of a plant in the ''Horti Malabarici'' as the plant for which the genus was created. In 1753 he named this species as ''

Ceropegia candelabrum ''Ceropegia candelabrum'' is the type species in its genus of plants, belonging the subfamily Asclepiadoideae. The Latin specific epithet ''candelabrum'' is derived from the candelabra-like appearance of the inflorescences. Vegetative characteri ...

''. Linnaeus did not explain the etymology but later explanations stated that the name ''Ceropegia'' was from the Greek word ''keropegion'' κηροπηγɩον. This means ''candelabrum'' in Latin, which has a broader range than the modern word - "a candlestick, a branched candlestick, a chandelier, candelabrum, or also lamp-stand, light-stand, sometimes of exquisite workmanship". An alternative explanation for the name was given later by William Jackson Hooker in 1830 in ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine'' in the description of ''

Ceropegia elegans ''Ceropegia elegans'' is a plant species that belongs to the genus ''Ceropegia''. It is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defin ...

'': "From '' κηρός'', wax, and '' πηγή'', a fountain, in allusion to the delicate, waxy umbels of some species". However, four years later Hooker gave the etymology in the description in the same periodical of '' Ceropegia lushii'' as "remarkable for the peculiar shape of its flowers, frequently arranged in umbels, hence its name κηροπηγɩον, a candelabrum, or lamp-stand". They have many common names including lantern flower, parasol flower, parachute flower, bushman's pipe, string of hearts, snake creeper, wine-glass vine, rosary vine, and necklace vine. ''Ceropegia'' species are traded, kept, and propagated as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

s.Ollerton, J., Masinde, S., Meve, U., Picker, M., & Whittington, A. (2009)
Fly pollination in ''Ceropegia'' (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae): biogeographic and phylogenetic perspectives.
''Annals of Botany'', mcp072. In Africa, the roots and leaves of some species are eaten raw and the tubers in India are eaten raw or stewed in curries.

Appearance

The stems are vining or trailing in most species, though a few species from the Canary Islands have erect growth habits. Among some species, such as ''

Ceropegia woodii ''Ceropegia woodii'' is a flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, native to South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the related '' Ceropegia linearis'', as ''C. linearis'' subsp. ''woodii''. Co ...

'', the nodes swell, and the roots similarly expand to form tubers beneath the soil surface. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are simple and opposite, although they can be rudimentary or absent. Especially in certain succulent species, the leaves may also be thick and fleshy. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s have a tubular corolla with five

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s most often fused at the tips, forming an umbrella-like canopy, a cage, or appendage-like antennae. The flowers of this genus are adapted for pollination by

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

. A great diversity of fly species are associated with ceropegias. The flowers are often inflated and fused at several points, forming a cage. Flies become momentarily trapped inside, accomplishing pollination as they move about.

Classification

The genus ''Ceropegia'' belongs to the subfamily Asclepiadoideae (milkweeds) within the family Apocynaceae. Species of this genus bear similarities to the carrion flowers or

stapelia ''Stapelia'' is a genus of low-growing, spineless, stem succulent plants, predominantly from South Africa with a few from other parts of Africa. Several Asian and Latin American species were formerly included but they have all now been transfe ...

s. There are at least 420 known species. More are being discovered and described regularly. Herbert F. J. Huber: Revision of the genus Ceropegia. In: Memórias da Sociedade Broteriana, Volume 12, 1957, S.1-203, Coimbra They are distributed throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

to the Arabian Peninsula, southeast Asia, the Canary Islands, the tropical Pacific, and Australia. A generic complex, with many interesting

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

problems at both generic and specific level, is formed by three genera: ''Ceropegia'', ''

Brachystelma The genus ''Brachystelma'' is represented by over a hundred species in the world, chiefly distributed in South Africa, South-East Asia and Australasia. In India, 17 species are known to occur, of which nine are endemic. Species The genus contain ...

'' and ''

Riocreuxia ''Riocreuxia'' is a plant genus in the family ''Apocynaceae'', and named in honour of the botanical illustrator Alfred Riocreux (1820-1912). It was first described as a genus in 1844 and is native to Africa.Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. M. Welman, ...

''.

Selected species

Gallery

File:Ceropegia stapeliiformis serpentina 02 ies.jpg, '' Ceropegia stapeliiformis'' File:Ceropegia linearis.jpg, ''

Ceropegia linearis ''Ceropegia linearis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Southern Africa. The popular houseplant ''Ceropegia woodii'' is sometimes treated as a subspecies of ''C. linearis'', as ''C. linearis'' subsp. ''woodii ...

'' File:Ceropegia rhynchantha Bild0876.jpg, '' Ceropegia rhynchantha'' File:Ceropegia fusca.jpg, ''

Ceropegia fusca ''Ceropegia fusca'' is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ceropegia'' (Apocynaceae). It is endemic to the Canary Islands, where it grows on Tenerife (especially the Macizo de Anaga area), Gran Canaria, and La Palma in the Tabaibal-Cardonal zone at ...

'' File:Ceropegia radicans radicans Schltr. (AM AK289461-2).jpg, '' Ceropegia radicans ssp. radicans''

References

External links

''Ceropegia''.
Flickr Group. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1411307 Apocynaceae genera