Adenium

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How to read a taxobox
Adenium obesum
A plant showing the swollen basal caudex
A plant showing the swollen basal caudex
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Adenium
Species: A. obesum
Binomial name
Adenium obesum
(Forssk.) Roem. & Schult.

Adenium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, containing a single species, Adenium obesum, also known as Sabi Star, Kudu or Desert-rose. It is native to tropical and subtropical eastern and southern Africa and Arabia.

Close-up of a flower
Close-up of a flower

It is an evergreen succulent shrub, growing to 1-3 m in height, with pachycaul stems and a stout, swollen basal caudex. The leaves are spirally arranged, clustered toward the tips of the shoots, simple entire, leathery in texture, 5-15 cm long and 1-8 cm broad. The flowers are tubular, 2-5 cm long, with the outer portion 4-6 cm diameter with five petals, resembling those of other related genera such as Plumeria and Nerium. The flowers tend to red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat.

Several regional subspecies occur:

  • Adenium obesum subsp. boehmianum. Namibia, Angola.
  • Adenium obesum subsp. obesum. Arabia.
  • Adenium obesum subsp. oleifolium. South Africa, Botswana.
  • Adenium obesum subsp. socotranum. Socotra.
  • Adenium obesum subsp. somalense. Eastern Africa.
  • Adenium obesum subsp. swazicum. Eastern South Africa.

[edit] Cultivation and uses

Adenium is a popular houseplant in temperate regions. It requires a sunny location and a minimum indoor temperature in winter of 10 °C. It thrives on a xeric watering regime as required by cacti. Adenium is typically propagated by seed.

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