Stapelia unicornis C.A.Lückh.

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Apocynaceae > Stapelia

Characteristics

Succulent forming clumps of loosely packed stems, 150-500 mm diam. Stems 60-160 mm long, 10-15 mm thick, decumbent with distinctly horizontal base, pubescent, pale green; tubercles 3-5 mm long, fused into 4 thick obtuse angles along stem with concave area between angles; leaf-rudiments 2.0-2.5 mm long. Inflorescence softly pubescent, 1 per stem, of 1-5 flowers developing in gradual succession from short stout peduncle near base of stem with lanceolate bracts 3-5 mm long; pedicel 8-30 mm long, 3 mm thick, spreading and holding flower facing horizontally; sepals 5-10 mm long, 2-3 mm broad at base, ovate, acute. Corolla 80-130 mm diam., ± rotate to shallowly campanulate; outside cream to pink with darker veins (3-5 per lobe); inside transversely rugulose with rugulosities red-brown and rest pale yellow often becoming reddish towards tips of lobes, covered with fine purple to red hairs that are longest (10 mm) and thickest in tube and along margins of lobes, densest in tube and more scanty towards tips of lobes, becoming shorter and more slender and purplish away from margins; tube ±5 mm deep, shallowly bowl-shaped below lobes with slightly thickened portion closer to centre; lobes 45-60 mm long, ±25 mm broad at base, spreading to reflexed, ovate, acuminate, slightly convex above from recurved margins. Corona ±10 mm tall, ±12 mm broad, with short broad pinkish pentagonal stipe 1.0-1.5 mm tall, dark purple, glabrous; outer lobes 5-6 mm long, 1 mm broad, linear, acuminate to acute, concave above, ascending then recurved near apex; inner lobes 7-9 mm long, lanceolate, initially adpressed to backs of anthers then connivent-erect, dorsiventrally flattened and becoming terete towards apex, with 3-4 mm wide laterally flattened dorsal wing fused to it for most of length.
Life form perennial
Growth form -
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.01
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture 5-8
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 7 - 30
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 21
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Stapelia unicornis world distribution map, present in South Africa

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:101829-1
WFO ID wfo-0001103736
COL ID 4ZJ98
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Gonostemon unicornis Stapelia unicornis