Ceropegia woodii

Schltr.

Chain of hearts

Apocynaceae Edible: Root, Tubers 650 iNaturalist observations

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-nd

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

Summary

Ceropegia woodii is a flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae, native to South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the related Ceropegia linearis, as C. linearis subsp. woodii. Common names include chain of hearts, collar of hearts, string of hearts, rosary vine, hearts-on-a-string, and sweetheart vine.

Description

A vine that keeps growing from year to year. It grows 1 m high and spreads 1 m wide. The stems are slender and twining. The leaves are heart shaped and silver and purple. The flowers are small purple tubes. They have expanding lobes.

Edible Uses

The roots and tubers are edible.

Distribution

It is a subtropical plant. It is best in rich, well-drained soils. It needs a sunny position. It is damaged by drought or frost. It needs a temperature above 15°C.

Where It Grows

Africa, Asia, Australia, Eswatini, India, South Africa*, Southern Africa, Swaziland, Tasmania, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

It can be grown by seeds, cuttings or division of the tubers.

Notes

Also put in the family Asclepiadaceae.

Synonyms

Ceropegia barbertonensis N. E. Br.Ceropegia collaricorona Werderm.Ceropegia euryacme Schltr.Ceropegia hastata N. E. Br.Ceropegia leptocarpa Schltr.Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodii (Schltr.) H. HuberCeropegia schoenlandii N. E. Br.

Also Known As

Srčastolistna svetilnica

References (4)

Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 242
East African Herbarium notes, 1981,
Mutie, F. M., et al, 2023, Important Medicinal and Food Taxa (Orders and Families) in Kenya, Based on Three Quantitative Approaches. Plants 2023, 12, 1145
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 63