''Tromotriche'' is a genus of

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

in 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 ...

. It is native to southern Africa.Gibbs Russell, G. E., W. G. M. Welman, E. Retief, K. L. Immelman, G. Germishuizen, B. J. Pienaar, M. Van Wyk & A. Nicholas. 1987. List of species of southern African plants. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa 2(1–2): 1–152(pt. 1), 1–270(pt. 2).

Description

''Tromotriche'' was first described as a genus in 1812, and its Greek name refers to the quivering hairs that surround the lobes of its flowers (''"tromo-"'' = "trembling"; ''"-trichos"'' = "hair"). The soft stems of ''Tromotriche'' species are obtusely, roundly four-angled (in cross section). Low, rounded mounds run along the edges of the angles, and leaf remnants are not visible. The stem surface is soft but often slightly rough. The varied flowers appear along the stems, and often have the characteristic hairs on the outsides of the lobes.

Distribution

This genus is restricted to the western (winter rainfall) regions of

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 ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. Its natural range closely mirrors that of the related genus ''

Quaqua The genus ''Quaqua'' falls within the tribe of plants known collectively as stapeliads. All stapeliads, including ''Quaqua'', are Old World stem succulents. Species of the genus ''Quaqua'' are exceptionally varied and endemic to southwestern A ...

''. The ''Tromotriche'' species in the north of its range tend to inhabit rocky quartz flats; while the three species in the south are each restricted to a small spot within the sandstone Cape Fold mountain ranges. ;SpeciesThe Plant List
/ref> ;formerly included ''Tromotriche obliqua'' (Willd.) G. Don in Loudon, synonym of ''

Stisseria obliqua ''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 transferr ...

'' (Willd.) Kuntze

References

Apocynaceae genera {{Apocynaceae-stub