Ceropegia cummingii (A.P.Dold) Bruyns

Perennial herb with tuber. Tuber depressed, spherical, not exposed, 20-25 mm high, ±30 mm diam. Stems 1-3 from single central growth point, erect, occasionally branching above ground level, below 10 mm, 0.5-1.0 mm thick at base, 0.4-0.5 mm thick above, 100-150 mm long, internodes 4 mm at base to 10-14 mm above, dull purple at base, new growth green, white puberulous. Leaves sessile, basal 3 or 4 pairs elliptic, 14-20 x 3-5 mm, erect, often twisted on central axis, margins tinged reddish, upper 10-15 pairs linear, spreading, simple, (10-)18-20(-22) x 1.0-1.5 mm, entire, V-shaped in cross section, lower keel prominent, upper surface with minute shiny water cells, dark green, lower surface leathery, yellow-green. Flowers single, extra-axillary at nodes, opening successively at every node whilst growing, seldom simultaneously; pedicels spreading, 15-18 x 0.4 mm, puberulous, purple. Bract persistent, single, extra axillary clasping, lanceolate, acute, ladle-shaped, cuspidate, bluntly spurred at base, 1 x 0.2 mm at base, green becoming dark purple-black. Sepals 5, lanceolate, acute, 1.6 x 0.6 mm at base, glabrous, reflexed below corolla sinus, reaching pedicel, persistent, purple. Corolla: in bud, inflated base pentagonal, 2 x 2.5 mm, cylindrical beak 4-6 x 0.5 mm, apex rounded; at anthesis, (4.5-)5.5-6.0(-10) x 3.5-4.0 mm; tube 0.25-0.50 mm, surrounding base of gynostegium, then reflexed up to 1 mm to sinus; lobes deltoid at base, produced into long attenuate lobes connivent at apices, 5-8 mm from apex to sinus, 1.2 mm broad at base, narrowing abruptly to 0.3 mm, sinus between lobes deeply incised, forming an open, pyramidal to ± globose, cage-like structure, inner surface of lobes with sparse, cylindrical-acute, white, adpressed trichomes, each attached to a raised papilla, arranged longitudinally, base dark purple, outer surface paler, upper surfaces dull green to yellow-green. Gynostegium 1 mm diam. at base, 1-2 mm high, glabrous, stipe white; outer corona lobes 0.4 x 0.3 mm at base, erect, slightly spreading, flattened, distal end bilobed, lobes spreading laterally forming a shallow V, black, tips sparsely furnished with minute white trichomes; inner corona lobes 5, 0.4 x 0.2 mm at base, flattened, incumbent on and curving inwards distally to cover anthers, black. Pollinium semi-ovate, flattened, 0.22 x 0.12 mm, insertion crest along outer edge narrowly, transparently winged, golden brown; corpusculum clavate, 0.15 mm long, orange-brown; caudicle short, broad, orange-brown. Follicles paired, linear ±60 x 3 mm, broadest in the middle, green, minutely and densely mauve-speckled, apices forming minute club-shaped tip.