7771.000 Harpagophytum DC. ex Meisn.

Description of the genus

Perennial herb, with prostrate annual stems. Leaves opposite, ± succulent, variable. Flowers solitary, erect, borne on short pedicels. Corolla tube cylindric; limb spreading; lobes ± equal. Stamens 4. Fruit an extraordinary flattened woody capsule bearing two rows of curved arms which themselves bear recurved spines.

Derivation of name: "grapple", or "hook" plant

Worldwide: 2 species in southern Africa and Madagascar

Zambia: 1 taxon.

Harpagophytum zeyheri subsp. sublobatum

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsProvincesContent
zeyheri Decne. subsp. sublobatum (Engl.) Ihlenf. & H.E.K. HartmannB,SS,WDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Harpagophytum:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Harpagophytum
Flora of Caprivi: Harpagophytum
Flora of Mozambique: Harpagophytum
Flora of Zimbabwe: Harpagophytum

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Harpagophytum
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Harpagophytum
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Harpagophytum
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Harpagophytum
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Harpagophytum
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Harpagophytum
JSTOR Plant Science: Harpagophytum
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Harpagophytum
Plants of the World Online: Harpagophytum
Tropicos: Harpagophytum
Wikipedia: Harpagophytum

Copyright: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Harpagophytum.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=1312, retrieved 19 April 2024

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