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| syn. Ceropegia borneensis (Merr.), Ceropegia cumingiana f. merrillii ((Schltr.) H. Huber), Ceropegia cumingiana ssp. horfieldiana ((Miq.) H. Huber), Ceropegia cumingiana ssp. merrillii [wrong], Ceropegia curviflora (Hassk.), Ceropegia horsfieldiana (Miq.), Ceropegia merrillii (Schltr.), Ceropegia obtusiloba (Fawc. in Forbes), Ceropegia papuana (Schltr.), Ceropegia perforata (N. E. Br.) |
| distribution: Australia: Queensland Indonesia: Bali, Borneo, Flores, Irian Jaya, Java, Panjang, Rakata, Sertung, Sulawesi, Tanimbar Islands, Timor Malaysia: Sabah Timor-Leste Papua New Guinea Philippines: Luzon Vietnam |
| Ceropegia cumingiana is
quite widely distributed and shows a big variability, at least three
subspecies were once recognized, but are not accepted anymore by now. It is a liana, which can become as large as 10 m when fully grown, it is therefore the largest species of the genus Ceropegia. The plant has fleshy roots, which can get about 15 cm long, tubers are not present. The leaves, depending on the plants origin, are 2 to 13 cm long and 1,5 to 7 cm broad and have an 2,5 to 4 cm long petiole. They are ovate elliptic in shape and heart-shaped or rounded at the base. The flowers appear allone or in groups of up to twenty on a up to 8 cm long petiole. They are, depending on the clone, between 1,5 to 3 cm long and more or less colourful. The natives of Queensland call this plant Anareata and eat its roots. In New Guinea the subterranean parts are also eaten resp. taken for medical purposes. |
 left:Ceropegia cumingiana Photo: by courtesy of Félix Muñoz Real Jardín Botánico > (CSIC), Madrid http://www.rjb.csic.es |
 left:Ceropegia cumingiana (syn. Ceropegia papuana) Photo: by courtesy of Barbara Thiers from The New York Botanical Garden Virtual Herbarium http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/VirtualHerbarium.asp |
| References: - J. Ollerton; P. Forster: Diptera associated with flowers of Ceropegia cumingiana in Australia. Asklepios 66: 21-22 (1995) - Robert J. Whittaker; Richard Field; Tukirin Partomihardjo: How to go extinct: lessons from the lost plants of Krakatau. Journal of Biogeography 27(5): 1049-1064 (2000) |