Family: Passifloraceae
Habitat: Tropical Africa and Madagascar (only succulent species)
Cultivation: The Adenia requires  abundant watering compared to other succulent, a lot of light but without being exposed to direct sunlight, fertilizing at least once a month.
Curiosity: Peter Forsskål, who first cataloged this genus, called him Adenia taking up the “aden” term, the Arabic name for these plants. They were used in traditional African medicine.

ADENIA KEY FEATURES

The genus Adenia includes about a hundred species that cover a wide variety of shapes: from herbaceous plants to lianas, till real trees. Among these, however, only a few are part of the succulent family. The succulent Adenia are perennial plants, with stems that swells at thye base forming a short caudex. In some species the stem is creeping or climbing, in others it assumes woody consistency and grows in height. The leaves are not succulent. They are large, palm-shaped, usually equipped with three or five lobes and  are dark green or gray-green. They hardly flourish out of  their natural habitat, but in any case the flowers are of little aesthetic interest – they are small, yellow and not flashy.

VARIETIES AND TYPES

The succulent species of Adenia is not so many; below we give you a list.

• A. ecirrosa
• A. ellenbeckii
• A. fruticosa
• A. glauca
• A. goetzei
• A. lanceolata
• A. lindenii
• A. pechuelii
• A. spinosa
• A. stylosa
• A. venenata

 TIPS FOR CULTIVATION

Here are our cultivation tips for the Adenia:

• EXPOSURE: They prefer very bright positions but possibly not under the direct rays of the sun, except for a few hours. The larger, leafy plants have greater resistance.
• TEMPERATURE: They are from the tropical areas where the climates are very warm, so they must be sheltered at the first cold weather when the temperature approaches 10 ° C.
• WATERING: Water every 3-4 days in the summer, abundantly, but be careful that the soil is completely dry between the watering. Decrease gradually the watering in the autumn, then suspend it completely  in winter when the aerial part of the plant is dried and the leaves fall.
• SOIL: The soil must be very fertile, draining and slightly acidulous. You can use a specific soil for cactacea enriched with a little peat.
• CONCIMATION: During spring and summer fertilize once a month, diluting a specific product for succulent plants in the water of the irrigation.
• REPOT: It is necessary when the roots are no longer easily contained in the vase, or if the plant caudex does not have enough space around it. You will probably have to do it every 2-3 years.
• REPRODUCTION: It can be done quite easily with the branch cuttings, but not always from the branches ,a complete plant with the caudex forms and so to be able to resist for many years. Alternatively you can use sowing, though as a system it is much slower.