Hoodia grandis
Plant Family
Apocynacae (Formerly Asclepiadaceae), Subfamily Asclepiadoideae
Accepted Binomial Name
Hoodia pilifera subsp. pillansii (N.E.Br.)
Synonymous Binomial Names (Kew 2019)
Hoodia coleorum Plowes.
Hoodia pilifera subsp. pillansii (N.E. Br.) Bruyns
Trichocaulon pillansii N.E.Br.
Common (Vernacular) Names
None.
Subspecies
None.
Plant Characteristics
Endemicity. This species occurs in Great and Little Karoo between Matjiesfontein, Merweville, Leeu-Gamka and Calitzdorp (von Staden 2012).. It grows among bushes on stony slopes.
Growth Habit. The plants are few to many-stemmed shrubs up to 0.6 m tall and 0.5 m broad (Bruyns 2006a).
Flowers. The flowers are fairly small, typically between 8 and 12 mm but may reach 20 mm in diameter. The corolla has five relatively narrow lobes (Bruyns 2006a). Their colors include shades of brown, pink, and yellow.
Fruit and Seeds. As typical of the genus. The fruiting body consists of two horn-like, slender, erect follicles. On ripening the follicles split releasing the seeds. As they are released a tuft of filament-like pappi opens and the seeds are disbursed by air currents.
Conservation Status
This species was possibly threatened by harvesting as a result of confusion with Hoodia gordonii, however, Hoodia harvesting is decreasing and harvesting is unlikely to cause widespread decline (von Staden 2012). In addition to increased harvesting, Hoodia species are also threatened by habitat degradation from agriculture and development (FWS 2019c).
CITES Listing: This and all other species of Hoodia, are listed on Appendix II of CITES. Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival (CITES 2019a). This listing includes all parts and derivatives except those bearing a label:
“Produced from Hoodia spp. material obtained through controlled harvesting and production under the terms of an agreement with the relevant CITES Management Authority of [Botswana under agreement No. BW/xxxxxx] [Namibia under agreement No. NA/xxxxxx] [South Africa under agreement No. ZA/xxxxxx].” (CITES 2019b).
Hybrids of Hoodia species with other species are subject to these requirements (Shippmann 2016). Hoodia seeds are also regulated by CITES (Harcum 2019), contrary to the information posted on the FWS website (USFWS 2019).
IUCN Listing: No assessments of the conservation status of Hoodia grandis were found on International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threated Species (IUCN 2019).
Red List of South African Plants Listing: This species was last assessed on May 4, 2012 and it’s population was determined to be stable. It is widespread and not in danger of extinction and listed as of Least Concern (von Staden 2012).
U.S. Endangered Species Act Listing Status: This taxon not listed (FWS 2018).
Uses
No records of specific uses of this plant were found.
Cultivation
Some plants of this species have been grown for use as ornamentals but no plantings for production of it as a crop have been reported.
Propagation Methods
Seeds. Hoodia are easily propagated from seeds.
Cuttings: Hoodia can be propagated from cuttings but we do not recommend the practice as it is much more difficult than production of true cactus (plants in the family cactaceae) from cuttings. Hoodia cuttings are highly subject to rot and we have been unable to get some species and varieties to root. Sometimes a callus forms over the cutting wound and this must be excised to allow root growth. Typically, the majority of cuttings fail to survive and root. Plants grown from cuttings have fewer roots, less vigor, and unstable form, often with few stems from the base and top heavy branching from the main stem.
Improved Cultivars
No improved cultivars of this species are known to us.
Pests and Diseases
Refer to the sections of this website on diseases and pests of Hoodia.
Invasiveness Potential
There are no references indicating that this species is invasive:
Global Invasive Species Database. This species was not found on the database (ISSG 2019).
Hawai‘i-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA). No assessment of this species was found on the HWPRA database (HWPRA 2019a). Several other Hoodia species were assessed and found to present low risk.
Plants and Seeds for Sale
Plants and seeds of this species are scarce. We do not have them in our inventory and it is unlikely that they will be available soon.
References
Bruyns PV. 2006a. Chapter 4. Hoodia. In: Stapeliads of Southern Africa and Madagascar, Vol. I Hatfield, South Africa: Umdaus Press., 92-129.
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). 2019a. Appendices I, II, and III valid from 4 October 2017. https://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php [accessed 28 October 2019].
CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). 2019b. Appendices I, II, and III valid from 4 October 2017. Annotation #9. https://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php [accessed 28 October 2019].
FWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). 2019. Endangered Species Home. Search Endangered Species Database. https://www.fws.gov/endangered/ [accessed 27 October 2019].
GISD (Global Invasive Species Database) 2018. http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/search.php [Accessed 15 November 2019].
Harcum H. 2019. E-mail communication, July 3, 2019 from Heather Harcum, Permits Biologist, International Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Falls Church, Virginia.
HPWRA (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment). 2019 Hoodia grandis. https://sites.google.com/site/weedriskassessment/home [Accessed 29 October 2019].
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2019. Version 2019-2. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search [accessed 27 October 2019].
Kew (Kew Royal Botanic Gardens). 2019. Planta of the World Online. Hoodia grandis (N.E.Br.) Plowes. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:964733-1 [Accessed 22 November 2019].
Schippmann U. 2016. Plant Annotations in the CITES Appendices – Implementation Manual – Version 1.0. Bundesamt für Naturschutz (BfN) Federal Agency for Nature Conservation Konstantinstrasse 110, 53179 Bonn, Germany. https://cites.org/sites/default/files/ndf_material/Schippmann_Manual_of_Annotations_V1_2016.pdf [accessed 21 July 2019].
von Staden, L. 2012. Hoodia grandis (N.E.Br.) Plowes. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2017.1. [Accessed 22 November 2019]
Page last updated January 30, 2022.