7771.000 Harpagophytum DC. ex Meisn.

Description of the genus

Perennial herb, with prostrate annual stems. Leaves opposite, ± succulent, variable. Flowers solitary, erect, borne on short pedicels. Corolla tube cylindric; limb spreading; lobes ± equal. Stamens 4. Fruit an extraordinary flattened woody capsule bearing two rows of curved arms which themselves bear recurved spines.

Derivation of name: "grapple", or "hook" plant

Worldwide: 2 species in southern Africa and Madagascar

Botswana: 5 taxa.

Harpagophytum zeyheri subsp. sublobatum

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
procumbens (Burch.) DC. ex Meisn. subsp. procumbens [LR-nt]N,SW,SEDescription, Image
procumbens (Burch.) DC. ex Meisn. subsp. transvaalense Ihlenf. & H.E.K. Hartmann[LR-nt]SEDescription, Image
zeyheri Decne. subsp. schijffii Ihlenf. & H.E.K.Hartmann[LR-nt]
zeyheri Decne. subsp. sublobatum (Engl.) Ihlenf. & H.E.K. Hartmann[LR-nt]NDescription, Image
zeyheri Decne. subsp. zeyheri [LR-nt]SE

Other sources of information about Harpagophytum:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: Harpagophytum
Flora of Mozambique: Harpagophytum
Flora of Zambia: Harpagophytum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Harpagophytum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Harpagophytum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Harpagophytum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Harpagophytum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Harpagophytum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Harpagophytum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Harpagophytum
JSTOR Plant Science: Harpagophytum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Harpagophytum
Plants of the World Online: Harpagophytum
Tropicos: Harpagophytum
Wikipedia: Harpagophytum

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Botswana: Genus page: Harpagophytum.
https://www.botswanaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1312, retrieved 29 March 2024

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