ABSTRACT
Caralluma ™mbriata (a succulent belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae) is a large group consisting of tender succulents found wild in India, Pakistan, the Canary Islands, Arabia, southern Europe, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan. The plants of this group vary from thin, recumbent stems (Figures 42.1 and 42.2) from ½ to 1½ in. thick to erect growing clumps up to 8 in. high. The spines that cover the angled stems are actually leaves. The star-shaped, ˆeshy ˆowers of these plants are some of the worst smelling of the succulent plants. Ordinarily borne in late summer, the foul-smelling blossoms are usually colored purple, black, yellow, tan, maroon, red, or dark brown. They are from ½ to 2 in. or more across and borne at the base of the plant. In the wild, these blossoms are pollinated by ˆies, which are greatly attracted to the plant. The succulent also is referred to by synonymous names such as Caralluma adscendens and Caralluma attenuata [3].
