Hoodia juttae
Plant Family
Apocynacae (Formerly Asclepiadaceae), Subfamily Asclepiadoideae
Accepted Binomial Name
Hoodia juttae Dinter
Synonymous Binomial Names (Kew 2019e)
Ceropegia juttae (Dinter) Bruyns
Common (Vernacular) Names
None found.
Subspecies
No subspecies have been described.
Plant Characteristics
Endemicity. This species has a small range, only known from around the base of and within the Little and Great Karas mountains in southern Namibia. In the Great Karas mountains it occurs both around the foot of the mountains and also on some of the high, flat topped summits, areas described as cold desert. There are 9–18 subpopulations, with extent of occurrence < 10,000 km² and area of occupancy suspected to be < 5,625 km². They often grow among rocks and short bushes (Bruyns 2006a, Craven 2004a).
Growth Habit. This species is similar in appearance to Hoodia gordonii but tends to be shorter, reaching a maximum height of about 0.3 meters. In nature it forms a shrublet up to 30 by 50 cm in size with numerous short branches extending from the base. Plants in cultivation are of similar from.
Flowers. The flowers of this species may be highly variable in shape, size and color but are generally smaller than those of H. gordonii. Flowers are most commonly flesh colored, dark red or brown. They are borne in small groups on the upper parts of the branches.
 Hoodia juttae, with Typical Flowers |
Yellow Flowered Variety
 Hoodia juttae Plant with Yellow Flowers |
 Hoodia juttae with Yellow Flowers |
 Hoodia juttae, Center of Yellow Flower |
Dark Red Flowered Variety
 Hoodia juttae Plant With Dark Red Flowers |
 Hoodia juttae Dark Red Flower Close Up |
 Hoodia juttae Center of Dark Red Flower |
Some plants of this species may bloom early as young seedlings.
 Hoodia juttae with Pink Flowers |
 Hoodia juttae Young Seedling with Red Flower |
Fruit and Seeds. As typical of the genus. The fruiting body consists of two horn-like, slender, erect follicles. On ripening the follicles split apart releasing the seeds. As they are released a tuft of filament-like pappi (a coma) opens and the seeds are disbursed by air currents.
Conservation Status
This species is not a listed as endangered or threatened. Increased awareness and market value of H. gordonii for use in appetite suppressants may have increased mortality associated with unsustainable harvesting of wild plants and this practice could possibly threaten other species of Hoodia. Commercial trade for this purpose is increasing. In addition to increased harvesting, Hoodia is also threatened by habitat degradation from annual and perennial non-timber crops, livestock farming and ranching. This results in ecosystem conversion and degradation (FWS 2019c and Craven 2004a).
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: Hoodia juttae has been evaluated and categorized as a species of least concern (LC) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2019b). It does not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent.
U.S. Endangered Species Act Listing Status: This taxon not listed (FWS 2018).
Uses
No records of specific uses of this plant were found. This species has been grown to a very limited extent for use as an ornamental. It may have appetite suppressant properties but has not been previously grown for this purpose.
Company Logo. A photo taken in 2006 of the dark red Hoodia juttae flower above was used to create our company logo and trademark. The structural chemical formula diagonally behind and extending from the edges of the plant is that of P-57, one of the active compounds that is thought to be responsible for the putative appetite suppression effects of Hoodia consumption. The circular format symbolizes the endless cycle of use and regeneration that characterizes sustainable biological resources.
 Sustainable Bioresources, LLC Company Logo and Trademark |
Educational Projects. Each year he Division of Environmental Protection (DEP) at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland hosted a celebration of Earth Day attended by thousands of NIH employees, their families and the public. Before retiring from federal service our founder worked with the DEP. In 2006 he created the Name “IT” contest for the Earth Day Event. In the early spring clues and a photo of a mystery organism dubbed “IT” that was associated with NIH’s mission and threatened by environmental problems was presented in the NIH Record, the agency’s newsletter. Readers were invited to submit their guesses about the identity of “IT ” to the DEP. At the Earth Day celebration IT’s identity was revealed and prizes were awarded to those who submitted correct answers. One of the contest rules was that a live representative of “IT” would be present for attendees to observe on the day of the celebration. The purpose of the the contest was to improve awareness of the critical importance of protecting animal and plant species, which are a most important source of new drug discoveries. The contest became quite popular, ran for several years and was presented in other venues including White House GreenGov events.
The mystery organism for the first Name IT contest was Hoodia juttae, and the photo used with the contest clues was the very bizarre center of its flower. An image from a contest poster and an article from the NIH Record announcing the identity of “IT” are below. In subsequent years other mystery organisms in the contest included pawpaw trees, American ginseng, moringa, the purple sea whip and gila monsters.
 NIH Contest Poster Image of Hoodia juttae Flower Center |
 NIH Name “IT” Earth Day Contest Article |
Cultivation
Some plants of this species have been grown for use as ornamental plants but no plantings for production of a crop have been reported.
Propagation Methods
Detailed instructions on cultivation of Hoodia juttae are available (Trankle and Hubner (2003).
Seeds. This species is 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
According to Bruyns (2006a) Hoodia gordonii occurs together with H. juttae in many places in the Great Karas Mountains and both flower profusely. Yet, there are no traces of intermediates or hybrids. Most of the Hoodia plants that have bloomed concurrently with H. juttae in our greenhouses are H. gordonii. So, if the barriers to hybridization that exist in nature are operative in artificial cultivation it is likely that the seeds produced from our H. juttae are not hybrids.
We have two cultivars of this species under development: HJ-NC1 and HJ-NC2. In our 2019 experiments these were among the fastest growing cultivars of the various Hoodia species except for H. parviflora.
Hoodia juttae Cultivar HJ-NC1
 Hoodia juttae Cultivar HJ-NC1 F1 Flower |
 Hoodia juttae Cultivar HJ-NC1 F1 Flower Center |
Pests and Diseases
Repeated attempts to grow this and other species of Hoodia outdoors in the ground at our facility in Hawaii were not successful. The plants did not grow and succumbed to rot and anthracnose. This species grows well in our greenhouse sheltered from raindrops that apparently spread anthracnose and other fungal diseases.
 Hoodia juttae, Diseased Plant in Ground |
This species is susceptible to bacterial rot and anthracnose. It is also highly attractive to mealy bugs when grown indoors. Refer to the sections of this website on diseases and pests of Hoodia species (currently under development).
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). We requested the HPWRA program to assess the invasiveness potential of Hoodia juttae since there were no records of prior introductions in Hawaii. HPWRA completed the assessment on April 21, 2015 and assigned it an assessment score of -1, indicating low risk (HPWRA 2019b). It has been designated as a Pono Plant, a good choice for planting in Hawai‘i. The detailed data used to prepare the assessment is available (Chimera 2015b).
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Plants and Seeds for Sale
Improved Cultivars
We offer plants and seeds of improved varieties of this species (cultivars) that we have developed from our online store. The species name listed for these cultivars is that associated with the seed-bearing plant from which the seeds or plants were grown. Because all of our plants are open pollinated in most cases we cannot definitively determine of the pollinator and all of our cultivars may have hybridized with other species.
Restrictions on Use of Cultivars. Sales and samples of plants, cuttings and seeds of this species and its cultivars are subject to our Hawaiian Hoodia™ License Agreement. All patent rights are reserved by Sustainable Bioresources, LLC. The transfer of Improved Cultivars as defined in the agreement from the buyer to other parties, and all commercial propagation or other commercial uses of these cultivars is prohibited.
We welcome inquiries about potential arrangements for commercial licensing and/or distributorships of our Hawaiian Hoodia™ products.
Please Contact Us for additional information.
Organic Status. All of the live plants of these cultivars offered for sale are Certified Naturally Grown (CNG), produced following organic farming standards of the CNG program.
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Availability and Ordering Information
Nursery Stock. Live plants of this species are available for purchase from our online store.
Photos taken in December 2019 of typical plants of this species are shown below. These seedlings were approximately one year old when the photos were taken and were in 5” pots. Some of these will be available for purchase as mature plants of harvestable size in 2022. All are Certified Nursery Plants (CNP), grown in the Hawaii Department of Agriculture certified nursery areas of our facility.
 Seedlings of Hoodia juttae |
Seeds. We offer seeds of specific cultivars of from this species, and mixtures of seeds from multiple seed lots from our online store. Each lot consists of seeds from one follicle (two horns), produced from one pollination event and should have similar genetics. Seeds from specific seed lots will also available and there are usually from 100 – 400 seeds in each lot. Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing these or more information.
Cuttings. Currently, we do not offer cuttings of this species.
Shipping Information
Domestic Shipments. Hoodia plants and cuttings from our certified nursery, and seeds can be shipped to all states and territories of the U.S except California. We are no longer shipping plants or cuttings to California. All plants will be shipped bare root.
International Shipments. All shipments of Hoodia plants, cuttings, seeds and materials derived from Hoodia plants to destinations outside the U.S. must comply with the requirements of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These shipments will be made under the provisions of our CITES Master File number 44411D, Original Permit/Certificate number 19US52992D/9 and single use permits issued to us by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We must obtain a single use permit for each shipment, regardless of its size. There are no exceptions to this requirement.
Inspections, import permits and issuance of Phytosanitary Certificates may also be necessary, and documentation requirements vary by country. Advance payment of fees may be required for permits, certificates, inspections and related services. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Sale for additional information. International customers are advised to contact us for before placing orders for any of our Hoodia products as the requirements and logistics for shipments from Hawaii are currently unsettled.
References
Bruyns, PV. 1993. A revision of Hoodia and Lavrania (Asclepiadaceae – Stapelieae). Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 115(2):145-270. Cited in Craven (2004a, 2004b, 2004c).
Bruyns PV. 2006a. Chapter 4. Hoodia. In: Stapeliads of Southern Africa and Madagascar, Vol. I Hatfield, South Africa: Umdaus Press., 92-129.
Chimera, C. 2015b. Assessment for Taxon: Hoodia juttae. https://plantpono.org/wp-content/uploads/Hoodia-juttae.pdf [Accessed 29 October 2019].
Craven, P. 2004a. Hoodia juttae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T46820A11083684. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/46820/11083684 [accessed on 28 October 2019].
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].
Craven, P. 2004a. Hoodia juttae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T46820A11083684. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/46820/11083684 [accessed on 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 ## Month 2018].
Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment (HPWRA). #### Year Accessed. Genus species. https://sites.google.com/site/weedriskassessment/home [accessed 29 October 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. Hawai‘i Pacific Weed Risk Assessment Site. https://sites.google.com/site/weedriskassessment/home [accessed 29 October 2019].
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2019b. Pages in category “IUCN Red List least concern species”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:IUCN_Red_List_least_concern_species [Accessed 17 November 2019].
ISSG (Invasive Species Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission) 2019. Global Invasive Species Database. http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/ [accessed 25 October 2019].
Kew (Kew Royal Botanic Gardens). 2019e. Planta of the World Online. Hoodia juttae Dinter. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:98344-1 [Accessed 18 November 2019].
NIH (National Institutes of Health). 2006a. NIH to Observe Earth Day, Apr. 27. NIH Record. VOL. LVII, No.7 April 7, 2006. https://nihrecord.nih.gov/sites/recordNIH/files/pdf/2006/NIH-Record-2006-04-07.pdf
NIH (National Institutes of Health). 2006b. Earth Day Contest Results: What “IT” Is. NIH Record VOL. LVII, No. 10 May 19, 2006. https://nihrecord.nih.gov/sites/recordNIH/files/pdf/2006/NIH-Record-2006-05-19.pdf
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].
Trankle U; Hubner F. 2003. Hoodia juttae DINTER. Asclepidarium. http://www.asclepidarium.de/English/artikel/Hoodia%20juttae_e.htm [Accessed 21November 2019).
This page was last updated on January 30, 2022.