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| syn. - |
| distribution:
India: Pune District, Raigad District, Ratnagiri District, Satara District / Maharashtra; Coimbatore District / Tamil Nadu |
| This twining
species grows in areas with high rainfall in the western parts of India. The leaves are long petioled and lancet-shaped to elliptical. The flowers of this species remind somewhat on those of Ceropegia nilotica. The lower part is quite swollen and takes about a third of the flowers total length. The flower-tube is thin, but broadened upward, coloured pinkish beige with some darker spots. The close-knit petals are very dark ruby-coloured, almost black and show a white stripe in the upper third. The local name of this plant is Mor Kharchudi (in Marathi). |
 left:Ceropegia oculata depiction from 'Curtis's Botanical Magazine' Photo: image by courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden http://www.botanicus.org |
 left:Ceropegia oculata; Kas Plateau / Satara District / Maharashtra Photo: by courtesy of Dr. Pramod Bansode |
| var. satpudensis (Punekar, S. D. Jagtap & Deokule) |
| syn. - |
| distribution:
India: Nandurbar District / Maharashtra |
| This variety
was described only in 2005. It grows in 584 to 1118 m above sea level in
shady bamboo thickets of dry decidous forests. It is a twining species, the stem arises from a subterranean tuber with a diameter of 2 to 4 cm and can grow 50 to 70 cm long. The opposite leaves are about 14 cm long and 5,5 cm in breadth and in contrast to the nominate form arise from a 1,2 to 3 cm long petiole. The leaves are slighly haired on the upper side and on the nerves beneath. The flowers appear in groups of two to four in a cyme, they differ from the nominate form in their form and colouration, they are narrower and show inconspicuous whitish spots all over their surface. The Pawra- or Pawara tribe, who lives in the Nandurbar District, knows this plant under the name Khotti resp. Khutti (in Pawri or Pawari) and uses the tubers to cure child fever. |
| References: - Sachin A. Punekar; Suresh D. Jagtap; Subash S. Deokule: A new variety of Ceropegia oculata Hook. (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) from Satpuda hill ranges of Maharashtra, India; Current Science, Vol. 91, No. 9, 10 November 2006 - S. D. Jagtap; S. S. Deokule; S. V. Bhosle: Ethnobotanical uses of endemic and RET plants by Pawra tribe of Nandurbar district, Maharashtra. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowlegde Vol. 7 (2), April 2008, pp. 311-315 |