''Ceropegia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of plants within the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

, native to Africa, southern Asia, and Australia.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 ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 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''. 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'': "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 th ...

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

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

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 Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s have a tubular corolla with five

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s most often fused at the tips, forming an umbrella-like canopy, a cage, or appendage-like antennae. Pollination is accomplished by

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwin ...

, and species can be generalists by attracting multiple families, or extremely specialized. '' Ceropegia dolichophylla'' releases scents that attract kleptoparasitic flies by mimicking the pheromones released by predatory arthropods in distress. 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 The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, it was treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family. They form a group of perennial herbs, twinin ...

(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 transfer ...

s. There are at least 420 known species. More are being discovered and described regularly. They are distributed throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

to the Arabian Peninsula, southeast Asia, the Canary Islands, the tropical Pacific, and Australia. A generic complex, with many interesting taxonomic problems at both generic and specific level, is formed by three genera: ''Ceropegia'', '' Brachystelma'' and '' Riocreuxia''.

Selected species

Over 450 species are accepted. Selected species include:

Gallery

File:Ceropegia stapeliiformis serpentina 02 ies.jpg, '' Ceropegia stapeliiformis'' File:Ceropegia linearis.jpg, '' Ceropegia linearis'' File:Ceropegia rhynchantha Bild0876.jpg, '' Ceropegia rhynchantha'' File:Ceropegia fusca.jpg, '' Ceropegia fusca'' File:Ceropegia radicans radicans Schltr. (AM AK289461-2).jpg, '' Ceropegia radicans ssp. radicans''

References

External links

''Ceropegia''
Flickr Group. {{Authority control Apocynaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus