Hoodia pilifera (live succulent)

Hoodia pilifera (live succulent)

Family: Asclepiadaceae

Common names: Ngaap, Guaap, Ghaap.

It is a Leafless fat-stemmed succulent 50-80 cm in height, with fleshy, ribbed and thorny stems arising from a common base. It will form large group up to 2 m in diameter (but usually much smaller). The stems are stricltly cylindrical up to 80 cm tall, 3-6 cm in diameter, dark green to pale grey green (sometime with a purple hue). The knobbly surface helps to scatter the sun’s radiation, minimising the amount of heat they absorb. This is a young plant.