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Cyphostemma orondo

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Photo by Soumen Aditya.


Male flower by Soumen Aditya.


Female flower by Soumen Aditya.


The leaves by Soumen Aditya.

Author: Bernard M. Descoings, 1967
Family:  VITACEAE
Origin:  Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaïre
Soil:  Rich
Water:  Medium - Maximum
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  6 Centimetres
Height:  75-150 Centimetres
Flower:  Yellow / Maroon
Propagate:  Seeds/Cuttings
Names:  -
Synonyms:  Cissus orondo, Ernest Friedrich Gilg & Max Brandt, 1912.
Cyphostemma serpens
subsp. serpens., Desc.
Cissus serpens
A.Rich.,1847.
Cissus lelyi
Hutch.,1921.
Cyphostemma lelyi,
Desc.,1967.
Cissus sesquipedalis
Gilg, 1895.
Cyphostemma
sesquipedale, Desc.,1967.
Cissus schweinfurthii
Planch.,1887.
Cyphostemma schweinfurthii
, Desc.,1967.

This member of the Vitaceae family was given this name by Bernard M. Descoings in 1967. It is found in Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaïre, growing in a rich soil with quite some water and part shadow to full sun. The rather skinny caudex or slightly swollen stem can grow to six centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to 75 to 150 centimetres in height. The flowers are yellow and maroon.

The genera name from the Greek kyphos; 'tumor' or ,'hump' and stemma; 'garland' or 'crown'. The species name means 'plump'.


A fruit by Soumen Aditya.


The thickened stem by Soumen Aditya.