Origin and Habitat: Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi.

• Huernia aspera N.E.Br.

Description: Huernia asperaSN|26460]]SN|26460]] is a small succulent species with creeping stems and tiny, dark purple, bell-shaped flowers, prominently papillate and with a foetid odour to attract flies for pollination.
Stems: Prostrate or decumbent and ascending 3-9(-20) cm long, 1-1,5 cm across, succulent, sparsely branched, glabrous, glossy, mid-green with tips of gold and pink (4-)5- to 6-angled with small, blunt, spreading somewhat rigid teeth (rudimentary leaves), rooting where the long trailing branches are in contact with the soil
Leaves: Rudiments acute, often recurved.
Inflorescences: 1-3(-5)flowered, almost, sessile near the base of the young stems, bracts, 2-3,5 mm long, acute. Pedicel 5-12 mm long.
Flowers: Solitary, slightly pendulous. Sepals lanceolate, acuminate 7 x 1,5 mm. Corolla inside and outside opaque red-brown to black-purple, 20-25 mm in diameter, broadly campanulate or bowl-shaped. Corolla-lobes deltoid, acuminate, spreading, densely papillose on either side, papillae hard, conical. Inner corona-lobes transversely rectangular squarish yellow. Outer corona lobes pale yellow, linear-subulate, acute or obtuse, slightly higher than the anther tips. Pollinia yellow-brown.

Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) L. C. Leach “A Revision of Huernia R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae)” Aloe, Cactus and Succulent Society of Zimbabwe, 1988
2) A.C.White & B.Sloane “Stapelieae” ( White & Sloane) ed. 2 3: 855 Abbey San Encino Press, 1937
3) Focke Albers, Ulrich Meve "Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Asclepiadaceae" Volume 4 Springer, 2002
4) Luckhoff “The Stapelieae of Southern Africa” Capetown, A.A. Balkema 1952
5) Bruyns, P.V. 2005. “Stapeliads of southern Africa and Madagascar.” Vol. II. Umdaus Press, Hatfield.
6) James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey “The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass” Cambridge University Press, 11/ago/2011
7) Gideon Smith, Neil R. Crouch “Guide to Succulents of Southern Africa” Struik Nature, 01/nov/2009
8) Prof.J.O.Kokwaro. "Medicinal Plants of East Africa" Third Edition. Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press. 478 Pp.Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press. Pp. 52 2009

Cultivation and Propagation: Huernia asperaSN|26460]]SN|26460]] isn't difficult to grow and flower.
Spring: When winter ends and they begin to grow again, they will require much water and soaking the pots will no longer put the plants at risk for rot. In the spring they will grow well in partial shade and leaving them out in the rain may provide them with the water they need.
Summer: In the summer months they will tolerate heavy rain, but will be just as happy if the season is dry. It's best to sort out the stems while the plants are resting in the summer before they begin their autumnal growth cycle. They will tolerate very hot weather outdoors as long as they are kept in filtered light and this will encourage them to flower in the Autumn. They also enjoy some fertiliser. Moving the plants as they are developing buds may cause them to spontaneously abort the flowers all together.
Autumn: In the fall keep them outdoors until the night time temperatures drop below the 10°C.
Winter: Winter care presents no problems at 10° C with plenty of light. As soon as they are flowered be sure to take extra precautions to keep them dry, because damp cool conditions when the plants are resting is an invitation to fungal infections, but - according to temperatures –some occasional lit watering may be useful.
Potting medium: Since roots are quite shallow, use a cactus mix or add extra perlite or pumice to regular soil potting soil. A gritty, very free-draining compost is suitable, and clay pots help the plants to dry out between watering. Re-pot every 2 years.
Pest and diseases: Huernia are generally fairly easy to grow, especially if kept pest-free. They are very susceptible to stem and root mealy bugs, and damage from these may well initiate fungal attack. Any time when there is a dead or dying stem in the pot it is important to remove it immediately and completely before other healthy stems can become ill too, isolate the healthy parts, dry them off, and re-root them in new compost.
Traditional Uses: In Kenya the sap of Huernia asperaSN|26460]]SN|26460]] is harnessed from the plant by breaking it and is applied onto wounds to treat them by drying them up.
Propagation: Easiest with stem cuttings. Allow cuttings to dry a day before planting. Stems must be laid (Not buried) on gritty compost and will then root from the underside of the stems. It can also be increased from seeds sowing in spring in moist, sandy peat moss. Barely cover seeds. Seeds germinate quickly.
In any season it's best to lay the stems out for several days before replanting them and then pot them only in dry soil and withhold any water until they begin to shrivel or start growing again.