The genus ''Huernia'' (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 ...

, 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 ...

) consists of

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

, stem succulents from Eastern and Southern

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 ...

and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, first described as a genus in 1810.Brown, Robert. 1810. On the Asclepiadeae 11 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 are five-lobed, usually somewhat more funnel- or bell-shaped than in the closely related

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 ...

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 ...

'', and often striped vividly in contrasting colors or tones, some glossy, others matte and wrinkled depending on the species concerned. Frequently the flowers are colored a variation of red, yellow or brown. To pollinate, the

s attract flies by emitting a scent similar to that of

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

. The genus is considered close to the genera ''

'' and '' Hoodia''. Phylogenetic studies have shown the genus to be monophyletic, and most closely related to the genus '' Tavaresia'', and to a widespread branch of stapeliads comprising the genera '' Orbea'', ''

Piaranthus ''Piaranthus'' is a succulent plant genus in the subfamily Asclepiadoideae, in the family Apocynaceae. It was first described in 1810. Its name comes from Greek and is descriptive of the fleshy, succulent flowers typical of the genus (''"piar-" ...

'' and ''

''.P. Bruyns, C. Klak, P. Hanacek: ''Evolution of the stapeliads (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae) - repeated major radiation across Africa in an Old World group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.'' 2014. v. 77, no. 1, p. 251--263. ISSN 1055-7903. The name of the plant is in honor of Justus van Heurne (1587–1653?) a Dutch

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

, botanist, and doctor, who is reputed to have been the first European to document and collect

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

plants. His surname has variations (van Horne, Heurnius, van Heurnius), however it was misspelled by the plant collector. Various species of ''Huernia'' are considered

famine food A famine food or poverty food is any inexpensive or ready available food used to nourish people in times of hunger and starvation, whether caused by extreme poverty, such as during economic depression or war, or by natural disasters such as dro ...

by the inhabitants of Konso special woreda in southern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. The local inhabitants, who call the native species of this genus ''baqibaqa'' indiscriminately, eat it with prepared balls of

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

(kurkufa); they note that ''baqibaqa'' tastes relatively good and has no unpleasant side-effects when boiled and consumed. As a result, local farmers encouraged it to grow on stone walls forming the terraces, where it does not compete with other crops.

Species

The following species of ''Huernia'' are found in Africa (East Africa, South Africa and Ethiopia) and Arabia (Saudi Arabia, Yemen). ;formerly included moved to '' Angolluma'' *''Huernia sprengeri'' now '' Angolluma sprengeri''
File:Huernia aspera.jpg, alt=Huernia asperia, '' Huernia asperia'' File:Huernia guttata ericbrian.jpg, alt=Huernia guttata, '' Huernia guttata'' File:Huernia piersii1.JPG, alt=Huernia piersii, '' Huernia piersii'' File:Huernia primulina (Vermont).jpg, alt=Huernia primulina, '' Huernia primulina'' File:Huernia quinta.JPG, alt=Huernia quinta, '' Huernia quinta'' File:Flower of Huernia schneideriana.jpg, alt=Huernia schneideriana, '' Huernia schneideriana'' File:Huernia striata1.JPG, alt=Huernia striata, '' Huernia striata'' File:Huernia zebrina kwiat.jpg, alt=Huernia zebrina, '' Huernia zebrina''

References

External links

Images of Stapeliads
{{Authority control Apocynaceae genera Succulent plants