''Stapeliopsis'' is a genus of succulent plants 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 ...

, native to 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 ...

Description

''Stapeliopsis'' was described as a genus in 1928. The name refers to its superficial resemblance to some species of the genus ''

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 ...

'' (Greek ''"-opsis"'' = ''"look-alike"''). The genus is extremely variable.Pillans, Neville Stuart. 1928. South African Gardening 18: 32. The stems are four-angled in cross-section, often with lines of teeth along the angles. In some species, the stems are prostrate or even push underground as rhizomes; in others the stems are more erect. The flowers are highly tubular, with hairs inside the tube of the flower. They appear from the base of the stems and often are born underground (especially in the case of '' Stapeliopsis pillansii''. The tips of many species' flower lobes curve inwards and touch at the tip, forming closed structures. Several species even use their flowers as cages to trap their insect pollinators - only releasing them when the flower wilts.

Distribution

The genus occurs across southern Africa, but is absent from most of the interior, occurring mainly around the western and southern verges of the subcontinent. The species are mostly very rare and restricted in their range. Only '' Stapeliopsis saxatilis'' is relatively widespread in rocky areas of the Cape. ;Species ;formerly included # ''S. ballyi,'' syn of '' Echidnopsis ballyi'' # ''S. cooperi,'' syn of '' Orbea cooperi'' # ''S. madagascariensis,'' syn of '' Stapelianthus madagascariensis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5487568 Asclepiadoideae Apocynaceae genera