''Caralluma'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

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. Notable mem ...

, consisting of about 120 species. In 1795

William Roxburgh William Roxburgh FRSE FRCPE Linnean Society of London, FLS (3/29 June 1751 – 18 February 1815) was a Scottish people, Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked extensively in India, describing species and working on economic botany. He is known ...

published the name '' Stapelia adscendens'' for a plant found in India. He commented that the name for the plant in the

Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu is the most widely spoken member of ...

was ''Car-allum'' and that the succulent branches are edible raw, though bitter and salty. The name ''Caralluma'' was coined by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

for a new genus in an article published in 1811. At the time he only described one species in the genus, the plant that he renamed '' Caralluma adscendens''. In 1996 Helmut Genaust published the suggestion that it was sensible to conclude that the generic name is derived from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

phrase ''qahr al-luhum'', meaning "wound in the flesh" or "abscess," referring to the floral odour. Genaust was unaware that the genus ''Caralluma'' existed east of Palestine. He specifically ruled out its existence in India, where it was first described and named. Genaust presumed that the name would have first been applied to ''Caralluma europaea'' in North Africa. In Italy it is present only on the island of

Lampedusa Lampedusa ( , , ; ; ) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of Lampedusa e Linosa is part of the Sicilian province of Agrigento which also includes the smaller islands of Linosa and Lamp ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. Most of the species occur in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, including several taxa valued by people for their medicinal properties.

Selected species

* '' Caralluma adscendens'' (also called ''Caralluma fimbriata'') (Roxb.) R.Br. * '' Caralluma burchardii'' N.E.Br. * '' Caralluma crenulata'' Wall. * '' Caralluma dummeri'' * '' Caralluma edulis'' (Edgew.) Benth. ex Hook.f. * '' Caralluma europaea'' (Guss.) * '' Caralluma joannis'' Maire * '' Caralluma russeliana'' (Courbai ex Brongn.) Cufod. * '' Caralluma socotrana'' * '' Caralluma somalica'' N.E.Br. * '' Caralluma speciosa'' (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br.

Formerly placed here

*'' Frerea indica'' Dalzell (as ''C. frerei'' G.D.Rowley)

References

External links

International Plant Names Index
Asclepiadoideae Apocynaceae genera Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) {{Apocynaceae-stub