Hoodia gordonii (Masson) Sweet ex Decne.

Many-stemmed shrub to 1 m tall and 0.6 m broad. Stems 0.1-1.0 m long, 25-50 mm thick, erect, grey-green to grey-brown; tubercles prominent, fused in lower half into 11-17 obtuse angles along stem, each tipped with a sharp spine 6-12 mm long. Inflorescences each with 1-4 flowers, opening successively; pedicel 8-30 mm long, 2-3 mm thick, oval in cross-section; sepals 5-6 mm long, 2-4 mm broad at base, ovate-lanceolate and overlapping at bases, acuminate, adpressed to corolla. Corolla (40-)50-100 mm diam., ± rotate, ± circular to quite clearly 5-lobed; outside pale flesh-coloured with darker veins; inside flesh-coloured to deep purple-red usually with darker veins, smooth to covered with small conical papillae (sometimes red around mouth of tube) each tipped with a bristle up to 2.0(-2.5) mm long; tube 1.0-1.5 mm long, 4.5-6.0 mm broad at mouth, containing most of gynostegium, formed entirely by annular thickening near base in otherwise ± flat corolla; lobes up to 15 mm long (excluding narrow tip), 50 mm broad at base, spreading, broadly ovate, abruptly narrowing to subulate point 3-6 mm long. Corona 1.5-2.0 mm tall, 4-6 mm broad, purple-black, glabrous, usually just touching side of tube at mouth, raised on very short stipe; outer lobes erect, entire and truncate or emarginate to bifid up to halfway down into ascending obtuse lobules <1 mm long, laterally fused for most of length to bases of inner lobes; inner lobes ±1 mm long, adpressed to backs of anthers and usually slightly exceeding them, linear to ± square, obtuse to truncate, with broad dorsal ridge near base connecting them to outer lobes.

A tropical plant. It grows in deserts in Botswana. It grows in sands. They need high temperatures, high light and low moisture. It cannot tolerate frost. In southern Africa it grows between 250-1,200 m altitude. It can grow in arid places.

The stems are chewed to reduce the desire for food. They are eaten fresh as a food. They have a bitter taste.

Plants can be grown by seed. They can also be grown by cuttings.