This page is under construction and all data is provisional.
Hoodia officinalis
Plant Family
Apocynacae (Formerly Asclepiadaceae), Subfamily Asclepiadoideae
Accepted Binomial Name
Hoodia officinalis (N.E.Br.) Plowes
Synonymous Binomial Names (Kew 2019X)
Ceropegia officinalis (N.E.Br.) Bruyns
Trichocaulon officinale N.E.Br.
Common (Vernacular) Names
None.
Subspecies
H. officinalis (N.E.Br.) Plowes subsp. delaetiana (Dinter) Bruyns
H. officinalis (N.E.Br.) Plowes subsp. officinalis
Synonyms (Victor and Powell 2009):
Hoodia rustica (N.E.Br.) Plowes
Trichocaulon officinale N.E.Br.
Trichocaulon pubiflorum Dinter
Trichocaulon rusticum N.E.Br.
Plant Characteristics
Endemicity. Hoodia officinalis subsp. offcinalis is the most widespread taxon of the small flowered species of Hoodia (Bruyns 2006a). In South Africa this subspecies occurs over a 15 000 km² area, as small subpopulations and is known from fewer than 15 locations. It also occurs in southern Namibia (except winter rainfall areas and deep sands of Kalahari in the east) and from Griqualand West near Douglas to Kimberley and Jacobsdal. It typically grows inside bushes in flat or gently sloping areas of the Karoo Desert (Victor and Powell (2009).
H. officinalis subsp. delaetiana is known only in south-western corner of Namibia close to the coast. The plants grow in stony flats and low stony hills. These areas have wind-blown sand and little other vegetation is present (Bruyns 2006a).
Growth Habit. This species has a form typical of the genus and grows as a small shrub with three to many stems, up to 0.3 – 0.4 m tall and 0.5 m wide, but usually much smaller (Bruyns 2006a).
 Hoodia officinalis Seedling |
 Hoodia officinalis Stem with Inflorescences |
 Hoodia officinalis Mature Plant |
Flowers. The flowers of this species are small (10 to 14 mm) and appear in inflorescences typically of 1 – 3 flowers. Colors include shades of red, beige and yellow.
 Hoodia officinalis Flower Bud |
 Hoodia officinalis Flower |
 Hoodia officinalis Flower Close Up |
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 opens and the seeds are disbursed by air currents.
Association with Mushrooms. We have repeatedly observed the emergence of an unidentified mushroom in potted plants of Hoodia officinalis and other Hoodia species. The following photos show their typical cycle. Please contact us if you can identify the mushroom species or would be interested in additional observations.
 Hoodia officinalis with Mushroom Buttons Emerging from Surrounding Substrate |
 Hoodia officinalis with Mushroom, Cap Fully Open |
 Hoodia officinalis with Withering Mushrooms, Stipes Fully Extended |
 Hoodia officinalis Mushroom Underside Showing Gills |
Conservation Status
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 was increasing. This species is threatened by harvesting because it is misidentified as Hoodia gordonii (Victor and Powell (2009). In addition to increased harvesting, Hoodia is 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:
Hoodia officinalis 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 (IUCN 2019b).
Red List of South African Plants Listing: Hoodia officinalis subsp. offcinalis was assessed on August 14, 2009. It had a declining population trend and was listed as Near Threatened B1ab(v) (Victor and Powell 2009).
U.S. Endangered Species Act Listing Status: This taxon not listed (FWS 2018).
Uses
No records of specific uses of this plant were found. It is harvested from the wild misidentified as Hoodia gordonii.
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. This species is easily propagated from seeds.
Cuttings: This species 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
We have not developed improved cultivars of this species.
Pests and Diseases
Refer to the sections of this website on diseases and pests of Hoodia species (currently under development). This species can get severe infestations of mealy bugs when grown in a greenhouse. These infestations persist if the plants are moved outdoors and are difficult to eradicate.
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 officinalis since there were no records of prior introductions in Hawaii. HPWRA completed the assessment on May 7, 2015 and assigned it an assessment score of -2, indicating low risk (HPWRA 2019b). Detailed assessment data is available (Chimera 2015d). It has been designated as a Pono Plant, a good choice for planting in Hawai‘i.
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Plants and Seeds for Sale
Improved Cultivars
We have not developed improved cultivars of this species. We were only able to acquire a small number of specimens and all but one of them were lost to bacterial soft rot. The surviving plant was the source of the rooted cuttings that we had offered for sale. In August 2022 our last specimen was lost to bacterial rot.
 Hoodia officinalis Rooted Cutting |
Availability and Ordering Information
Nursery Stock. Live plants of this species may are not available.
Seeds. We do not offer seeds of this species.
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. 2015d. Assessment for Taxon: Hoodia officinalis. https://plantpono.org/wp-content/uploads/Hoodia-officinalis.pdf [Accessed 29 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].
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). 2019g. Hoodia officinalis (N.E.Br.) Plowes. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:964735-1 [Accessed 18 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].
This page was last updated on August 31, 2022.