Astonishing Asclepiads

I have quite a fond affection for succulents. They are varied, colourful, architectural, undemanding, easy to propagate and, unlike cacti (which I also quite like), defenceless and easy to handle. I only have a few of them but share my enthusiasm with my neighbour, Paul, who has a much larger selection. He came to tell me that one of his prized specimen was in flower this morning, and I jumped on the opportunity to share it with my little world because I think it is quite a sight! It is called Stapelia gettliffei.
Stapelias are interesting plants that belong to the Asclepiadaceae family and if they don't look remotely like asclepiads, their long pointy seed pods and flat brown seed attached to silky hairs are a giveaway. Asclepiads are generally quite amazing and I have yet to find a plant in the family that isn't interesting. A lot of them have deliciously fragrant flowers and my most favourite is the gorgeous Dregea sinensis.

A climber of delicate complexion, it shares the beauty and scent of Hoya, but it is deciduous and therefore hardier, an undeniable advantage for us dwellers of the temperate regions. I longed for it for a while and have at last secured a plant in the spring. It is only a small thing still, but it already delights me with its intoxicating flowers. I bought the variegated form, a plant which would make a snobbish gardener turn up his nose, but which I quite adore, each leaf having a different pattern. I do admit that the flowers might set themselves off better on plain dark green foliage, but I think it's better value to have the ornemental foliage as well.

This plant used to be called Wattakaka, which I think is a brilliant name, but obviously it was just too much for some stoic botanist who managed to have the name changed to dull Dregea.

There are so many other Asclepiads that I should like to mention and indeed I can feel a piece on hardy ones coming up soon but for the time being I am going to finish with the photo of a herb from South Africa that was introduced to me by a friend, Ellen, who grew it in her nursery on Lake Ontario, New York State. She gave me a plant but it didn't survive the transit to England and I hope I can try it again in the near future for it is definitely something exciting, even in the name. It's called Xysmalobium undulatum.