Echidnopsis

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Gentianales

Familia: Apocynaceae
Subfamilia: Asclepiadoideae
Tribus: Ceropegieae
Subtribus: Stapeliinae
Genus: Echidnopsis
Species: E. angustiloba – E. archeri – E. ballyi – E. bavazzanoi – E. bentii – E. bihendulensis – E. cereiformis – E. chrysantha – E. ciliata – E. dammanniana – E. ericiflora – E. globosa – E. inconspicua – E. insularis – E. kohaitoensis – E. leachii – E. malum – E. mijerteina – E. milleri – E. montana – E. multangula – E. planiflora – E. radians – E. repens – E. rubrolutea – E. scutellata – E. seibanica – E. sharpei – E. socotrana – E. squamulata – E. thulinii – E. uraiqatiana – E. urceolata – E. virchowii – E. watsonii – E. yemenensis
Name

Echidnopsis Hook.f., Bot. Mag. 97: t. 5930. (1871)

Type species: Echidnopsis cereiformis Hook.f., Bot. Mag. 97: t. 5930 (1871)

Synonyms

Homotypic
Ceropegia sect. Echidnopsis (Hook.f.) Bruyns, S. African J. Bot. 112: 416. (2017)
Heterotypic
Pseudopectinaria Lavranos, Cact. Succ. J. (Los Angeles) 43: 9 (1971)

Note: A possible synonym of Ceropegia s.l. (Bruyns et al., 2017 & Hassler, 2022 c.f. Govaerts et al., 2022).
Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Africa
Regional: Eastern Africa
Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania
Continental: Asia-Temperate
Regional: Peninsular Arabia
Oman, Socotra, Yemen

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Hooker, W.J. 1871. Curtis’s botanical magazine, comprising the plants of the Royal Gardens of Kew, and of other botanical establishments in Great Britain; with suitable descriptions. Vol. XCVII [= Vol. XXVII of the third series.] |Pp, 5878–5942, Lovell Reeve, London. BHL Reference page. : 97: t. 5930.

Additional references

Goyder, S., Harris, T., Masinde, S., Meve, U. & Venter, J. (2012). Flora of Tropical East Africa, Apocynaceae(2): 1-530.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2022. Echidnopsis in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Mar. 13. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2022. Echidnopsis. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2022. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2022 Mar. 14. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2022. Echidnopsis. Published online. Accessed: Mar. 13 2022. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2022. Echidnopsis. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 13 Mar. 2022. Reference page.

Vernacular names
русский: Эхиднопсис
svenska: Ödlestjärnesläktet
中文: 青龙角属

Echidnopsis is a genus of succulent, cactus-like plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1871.[1] They are native to eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.[2][3]

Accepted species[4]

Echidnopsis angustiloba E.A.Bruce & P.R.O.Bally - Kenya
Echidnopsis archeri P.R.O.Bally - Kenya
Echidnopsis ballyi (Marn.-Lap.) P.R.O.Bally - N Somalia
Echidnopsis bentii N.E.Br. ex Hook.f. - Arabia
Echidnopsis bihenduhensis P.R.O.Bally - N Somalia
Echidnopsis cereiformis Hook.f. - South Africa
Echidnopsis chrysantha Lavranos - Somalia
Echidnopsis ciliata P.R.O.Bally - N Somalia
Echidnopsis dammaniana Sprenger - Eritrea
Echidnopsis ericiflora Lavranos - Kenya
Echidnopsis globosa Thulin & Hjertson - Yemen
Echidnopsis inconspicua Bruyns
Echidnopsis insularis Lavranos - Socotra
Echidnopsis leachii Lavranos
Echidnopsis malum (Lavranos) Bruyns - Somalia
Echidnopsis mijerteina Lavranos - Somalia
Echidnopsis milleri Lavranos - Socotra
Echidnopsis montana (R.A.Dyer & E.A.Bruce) P.R.O.Bally - Ethiopia
Echidnopsis multangula (Forssk.) Chiov. - Arabia
Echidnopsis planiflora P.R.O.Bally - Somalia, Ethiopia
Echidnopsis radians Bellerue-Bleck - Kenya
Echidnopsis repens R.A.Dyer & Verdoorn - Tanzania
Echidnopsis rubrolutea Plowes - Somalia
Echidnopsis scutellata (Deflers) A.Berger - Arabia, Kenya
Echidnopsis seibanica Lavranos - Arabia
Echidnopsis sharpei A.C.White & B.Sloane - Kenya, Somalia
Echidnopsis similis Plowes - Somalia
Echidnopsis socotrana Lavranos - Socotra
Echidnopsis squamulata (Decne.) P.R.O.Bally - Arabia
Echidnopsis uraiqatiana Dioli - Eritrea
Echidnopsis urceolata P.R.O.Bally - Kenya
Echidnopsis virchowii K.Schum. - Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania
Echidnopsis watsonii P.R.O.Bally - Somalia
Echidnopsis yemenensis Plowes - Yemen

Species formerly included[4]

Echidnopsis quadrangula now Caralluma quadrangula

Taxonomy

Phylogenetic studies have shown the genus to be monophyletic, and most closely related to the genus Rhytidocaulon. Marginally more distantly related is a sister branch comprising the genus Pseudolithos and the widespread Caralluma stapeliads of North Africa.[5]
References

Hooker, Joseph Dalton. 1871. Botanical Magazine v 97, plate 5930. includes color illustration of E. cereiformis
Asclepiad Exhibition, Echidnopsis Fockea
"Wildscreen Arkive". Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
The Plant List, genus Echidnopsis
P. Bruyns, C. Klak, P. Hanacek: Evolution of the stapeliads (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae) - repeated major radiation across Africa in an Old World group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 2014. v. 77, no. 1, p. 251--263. ISSN 1055-7903.