Resource Book on Horticulture Nursery Management

. Succulents: Plants with very fleshy foliage or stem or both, mostly inhabiting dry
desert locations in open situations and capable of withstanding long hot spells of
drought are called succulents e.g. Agave, Abe, Cotyceda, Euphorbia, etc.
Nursery of Succulent Kalanchoe sp.
Asclepiadaceae
The economic importance of the family includes the use of some species of
Caralluma such as Caralluma edulis, as green vegetables and the tubers of Ceropegia
species as food.
A. Ceropegia: Ceropegia are a group of very peculiar looking insect pollinated
flowers. Many of these are endemic to Indian subcontinent and to be specific the
Western Ghats. Some are listed as below: Ceropegia attenuata, C. bamesii, C.
ciliate, C. ensifolia, C. evansii, C. fantastica, C. huberi, etc.
B. Caralluma: In India there are 13 species of Caralluma most of which are confined
to Peninsular India. The habitats of this genus, particularly in the Western and
Eastern Ghats and Vindhya ranges are fast disappearing due to mining activities.
e.g. Caralluma edulis, C. indica, C. lasiantha, C. nilagiriana, C. pauciflora, etc.
C. Brachystelma: Peninsular India is the second centre of origin of the genus
Brachystelma. Species are distributed in the hill ranges of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka.
Ten species of Brachystelma are found in India viz, Brachystelma bourneae, B.
bracteolatum, B. ciliatum, B. glabrum, B. kolarensis, B. maculatum, B. rangacharii,
B. volubile, etc.
D. Hoya: The genus Hoya is widely distributed in the temperate regions of the
Himalayas where species are under threat due to deforestation. Since forty percent
of the forest cover in the Himalayas has been lost, substantial numbers of
populations of Himalayan Hoya species have also been lost.
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