6880.000 Tavaresia Welw. ex N.E. Br.

Spiny, glabrous, succulent perennials. Stems 6-12-angled, the angles bearing tuberculate teeth; each tubercle bearing 3(-1) apical bristle-like leaves. Inflorescence 1 per stem, consisting of 1-few flowers produced from near base of stem. Sepals ovate-lanceolate. Corolla with elongated campanulate tube to 15 cm long; lobes spreading; outside longitudinally flecked with maroon; inside densely papillate. Corona in 2 series. Pollinia ± horizontal. Follicles erect, hairless, smooth. Seeds with a tuft of hairs.

Derivation of name: named after José Tavares de Macedo, one of the top officials in the Portuguese Ministry of Marine Affairs and the Colonies.

Comment: More recent phylogenetic evidence has led to the forming of a very broad concept of the genus Ceropegia including the genus Brachystelma and all known genera within the Stapeliae (Bruyns, P.V., Klak, C. & Hanáček, P., 2017). However we follow Goyder et Al. in Flora Zambesiaca 7(2), 2020 where the inclusion of the Stapeliad genera has not been accepted.

Worldwide: 2-3 species in Africa (1 species, T. meintjesii is thought to be a natural hybrid).

Botswana: 1 taxon.