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Adenium "obesum" x swazicum hybrids Adenium "obesum" x swazcium hybrids are probably the first intergeneric crosses made in the genus. The primary hybrids (first generation, aka F 1 ) have fairly consistent traits and are usually quite beautiful. The plants are well-branched shrubs, but usually with weak stems that need hard pruning to mainta in a neat, upright form. The swazicum parent often contributes a large caudex or swollen roots. The “obesum” parent contributes large flower size and a wide range of colors. The swazicum parent intensifies the flower color (if the parents are dark) and transmits uniform petal color (i.e., it doesn’t fade toward the throat as in all other species except A. boehmianum). F 1 hybr ids also have dark red or black throats. The primary hybrids are pollen-sterile, so second generation (F 2 ) crosses are not possible. F 1 plants can be used as seed parents and back-crossed to one of the parent species, but most offspring are weak. Because of these problems, complex A. swazicum hybrids (second generation and beyond) are rare. See the superior cultivar page for a gallery of the best. Above left: a flower of 'Crimson Star ' (bottom) with its parents A. "obesum " 'Red Everbloomer ' (left) and A. swazicum 'Boyce Thompson '. This old scanned transparency is oversaturated. The photo above right is closer to 'Crimson Star's' color. Notice the centripetal fading of the petals of the "obesum" parent, and the solid color and characteristic dark throat of the hybrid. A 10-year-old cutting-grown 'Crimson Star '. This cv. has thick, sturdy stems and roots, but they develop slowly. Footnotes

Plant Sales This page features rare species and cultivars that will occasionally be available (continental USA only) at sascactus.com . There are two groups of offerings: 1. Superior adenium cultivars that perform well in hot summer/cool winter desert and semiarid climates; most were bred in Tucson, Arizona. The list includes cuttings and grafts of my own best hybrids as well as some created by others that I think are special. Some are clones of outstanding wild-collected plants, and a few that have historical value. The propagules offered range from small cuttings and grafts up to larger groomed specimens. Most of the adeniums I will offer are from my exclusive breeding line. Almost all commercially available adeniums are A. "obesum " and its hybrids (primarily with crispum) . Most are bred for small size to fit into limited living spaces. They have been bred in tropical climates and are not necessarily cold-tolerant. The very popular double-flowered cultivars have been over-selected for flower characteristics, and their stems are usually not strong enough to hold the flowers upright. I have very different goals: Since 1999 my primary focus has been on plants that can grow large, even to landscape-size. (But they can be kept smaller with hard culture and pruning.) They're tetraploid (4n) hybrids of A. "arabicum " with A. "obesum " and often A. crispum too. Tetraploid plants tend to be more compact, with sturdier stems and thicker leaves, more tolerant of environmental stresses, and more disease resistant. I also select for plant quality - big caudexes and disease resistance, in addition to flowers that are well-shaped, numerous (high flower count per inflorescence), and bloom most or all of the year. These 4n cultivars grow well on their own roots; no grafting is needed. 2. I will offer other outstanding species and hybrids that are rarely available. See a partial listing below . Contact Brian to be notified by email when plants become available at sascactus . Adeniums Click on the adenium name to see cultivar details. Click on the Buy Now button (if present) to go to the sales site and shopping cart. A. arabicum 'Carol Ann' Expected availability summer 2025 Adenium 'Crimson Tower' Shop Now Adenium "obesum " 'Great General' Available spring 2025 Adenium 'Grenadine Splash' Shop Now Adenium 'Nearly Perfect #776' Shop Now Adenium 'OMG!' Shop Now Adenium 'Pink Elephant' Shop Now Adenium 'Radiant Dawn' Shop Now Adenium 'Tetra Splash #927' Shop Now Other sales Other Plants Billbergia stenopetala Probably the largest species of Billbergia; it can grow to over 4 feet tall before producing its spectacular multicolored inflorescence. The rosette is more narrowly tubular when grown in brighter light. Shop Now Tillandsia ehlersiana Near flowering size plants available in 2024. This beautiful species grows slowly. It takes 6 to 10 years to flower from seed, and 3 to 5 years for an offset to mature. It grows largest if potted in crushed rocks and fertilized generously. The plant shown is in an 8-inch pot. Shop Now Strophocactus (Selenicereus) wittii The moon cactus made famous by artist Margaret Mee. It grows on tree branches overhanging the Amazon River. Its cladodes (stems) wrap around the branches like a coiling snake. Cold hardiness untested. Shop Now Tillandsia duratii saxatilis 'Chaco Flaco' This selected clone from the Chaco region of Paraguay has long, narrow rosettes and huge inflorescences. It's slow-growing so rarely offered for sale. Shop Now Tillandsia 'Twisted Reality' Description This is a hybrid of Tillandsia (bulbosa x streptophylla ) x 'Gorgon'. It has the best of its parents: a bulbous base and twisted leaves. An equally distorted small red inflorescence appears when the rosette is mature. With time it will grow into a tangled ball. Shop Now Tillandsia 'Curly Slim' My hybrid of Tillandsia streptophylla x intermedia . Rosettes tend to be long and narrow with soft, twisted leaves. The shape varies greatly with culture. If grown dry in high light, rosettes will be compact with tightly twisted leaves. With less light and more water, rosettes grow more elongated and the leaves are less twisted. To produce the most charismatic specimen, grow it with generous water and fertilizer until it begins to flower, then let it dry out and watch the leaves twist and coil. Shop Now Opuntia alta 'Fruit Punch' An extremely vigorous plant that can attain six feet tall and twice as wide in less than 10 years. Unlike most prickly pears, this clone grows pads throughout the summer. It flowers massively in April-May; each terminal pad can produce more than 20 buds that open into big purplish-red blooms. More flowers appear sporadically through summer. Culture: Native to south Texas, so it needs more water than most desert prickly pears. Hardy to at least 12 F. Origin: Opuntia alta is a hexaploid (6n) species that originated as a natural hybrid between O. engelmannii lindheimeri and O. stricta . In 1999 Tom Wiewandt gave Mark Dimmitt a pad of a plant he collected near McAllen, Texas. It was the most colorful prickly pear he saw there, with reddish-purple flowers. Mark Dimmitt grew about 100 seedlings from this plant, and selected this clone as the best of them. Note: This is different from the Colorado plant of the same name. It's also different from 'Citrus Punch'. Available now Opuntia 'Tucson Ruby' The plant looks like an Engelmann prickly pear when not in flower. Modest size; grows to 2 feet tall and four feet across in several years. Flowers in April-May. The color varies with the weather from blood-red orange; both colors may be present at the same time. Culture: Needs no supplemental water in Tucson (10-12 inches annual rainfall). Hardy to at least 12 F, Note: This plant volunteered on Mark Dimmitt's property. An Engelmann prickly pear apparently crossed with one of the red-flowered plants in his ya rd. Available now Right 2: The flowers of 'Tucson Ruby' vary with the weather, blooming darker on cooler days (< 90-95 F). Sansevieria stuckyi giant form The colony shown is 8 years in the ground and the tallest leaves exceed six feet. They reportedly can grow even taller. This clone was collected by Jim McConville (#165) in Botswana, USDA #19459, HBG #50502. Available summer 2025 Tillandsia duratii 'Chaco Giant' Another selected clone from the Chaco of Paraguay. It has the largest, most succulent rosettes that I have seen in this species. The inflorescences are sparsely branched. This cultivar has never been offered for sale. Available again in 2026? Commiphora monstruosa A slow-growing natural bonsai with twisted stems and peeling bark. This 13-year-old plant has been pruned but not trained. Rooted cuttings available 2027

Cultivars of Adenium dhofarense Back to Gallery None? I don't know of any selected cultivars of this species that are important to adenium horticulture. If you know of any, please submit photos and a description using this form . Due credit will be given.

Hybrids containing Adenium somalense nova & swazicum Waiting for contributions

Cultivars of Adenium somalense None? I don't know of any selected cultivars of this species that are important to adenium horticulture. If you know of any, please submit photos and a description using this form . Due credit will be given.

Adenium boehmianum Schinz Adenium boehmianum is closely related related to A . swazicum , and occurs on the other side of southern Africa in Namibia and southern Angola. It is an erect arborescent shrub, usually with barely succulent stems and only modestly swollen roots. In the northern end of its range it develops thick conical trunks. The leaves are the second largest in the genus. The flowers have broad petals that usually overlap, and are borne from late summer into early winter. This species shares a diagnostic trait with A. swazicum : petals are of uniform pink with no fading toward the dark throat, and very short anther appendages. A. boehmianum is uncommon in cultivation. A. boehmianum at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. The plant is about six feet tall. A. boehmianum flowers are usually circular in outline. Notice that the petal color does not fade toward the throat. Flowers and foliage of A. boehmianum . Flowers and foliage of A. boehmianum . Right: An example of pink flowers of A. boehmianum. Photo: Cheryl Acford Adenium boehmianum in the Wild Adenium boehmianum in Namibia. Photo: Dan Mahr Adenium boehmianum in Namibia. Photo: Dan Mahr Adenium boehmianum in Namibia. This one has a well developed conical trunk. Photo: Dan Mahr Adenium boehmianum in Namibia. Photo: Dan Mahr Adenium boehmianum in Namibia. Photo: Dan Mahr Adenium boehmianum in Namibia. Photo: Robert H. Webb Adenium boehmianum at Ojihipa, Namibia (Angolan border on the Kunene River). Photo: Ernst Van Jaarsveld. Flowers of Adenium boehmianum in Namibia on the Kunene River near Epupa Falls. Photo: Ernst Van Jaarsveld. Adenium boehmianum in northern Namibia, exhibiting a splendid succulent trunk. Photo: Ernst Van Jaarsveld. Adenium boehmianum near Okabadjia, Namibia. Photo: John Lavranos. Back to Top Footnotes

Adenium oleifolium Stapf Adenium oleifolium occurs in South Africa and extreme southern Botswana. It is the smallest species in the genus. The caudex is subterranean, the stems are scarcely succulent, and rarely reach a foot tall. Plants in cultivation have small flowers are usually pale pink, with yellow throats and prominent red nectar guides. The anther appendages are just shorter than the tube, or may be slightly exserted. Wild plants come in a wide range of sizes and colors from white through pink to dark red. Plant and foliage of A. oleifolium . The plant is in a 6-inch pot and is about 6 years old. Flower of A. oleifolium . Note the yellow throat and moderately long anther appendages. A. oleifolium selected for darker flower color. Three seed-grown plants of A. oleifolium, several years old. Nectar guides may extend partway onto the petals. Those of A. crispum usually extend much farther toward petal tips. The petals are often narrow, but not as quilled as those of A. crispum . Leaves of A. oleifolium are longer and narrower than those of A. crispum , and lack the white veins. Photos: David Palzkill. Adenium oleifolium in the Wild A population of A. oleifolium near Uppington, Northern Cape, South Africa. The flower collection at right shows some of the variation at this locality. Variable traits include flower size, petal color and width, presence and prominence of nectar guides, and length of anther appendages. The variation is much greater than in any other Adenium taxon that I know of. Photos: Dawie Human. Left: An old plant of A. oleifolium collected from the wild . In nature the caudex was below ground. Photo: Robert H. Webb. Back to Top Footnotes

Contribute Photos and Other Information Please help add to our knowledge about Adeniums. Criteria for contributing images and other information to this website Contributions of photos and information about adeniums are welcome. Contributors will be gratefully acknowledged. Please pay careful attention to the different goals: COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS, AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION This fo rm is for submitting text and links to information sources. The latter is important: If the information is not your personal knowledge, please document where you obtained it - the first-hand source (personal communication to you), or a published article or website link. PHOTOS Use this form to contribute photos of wild plants, or cultivars that are substantially different from what is already on this site. A. Wild adenium plants : There is very little detailed information about the geographic distribution of adeniums. (There are only about 200 herbarium specimens from all of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.) It’s also known that their natural variability is much greater than what is represented in cultivation. Plants seem to be distributed in isolated populations, and some of the wild plants that I have seen photos of are diff icult to assign to a known taxon . To further our collective knowledge of this beautiful genus: 1. When possible, please include images of the plant in habitat , a close-up of the plant (s), and close-ups showing the leaves, flowers, and/or fruit . 2. Photos of multiple specimens are desirable for each locality to show the local variability. (For example, both shrubby-dwarfs and arborescent A. “arabicum ” can grow in the sa me locality. Flower color and shape can also vary greatly.) 3. Provide at least fairly precise locality data . -For example, “Saudi Arabia” is not useful, -while “southwest of Sanaa, Yemen” and “Jabal Shada, S. Arabia” are okay, and -“hills near south end of Lake Eyasi, Kenya” is good information. 4. Plants that are not along major roads are especially valuable. 5. Plants that are very different from what's typical of the region are also treasured. For example, the plants of "obesum"(?) near Lake Eyasi , Kenya, with flowers that look like those of swazicum; or "somalense nova", scattered populations among "obesum" territory. B. Cultivars : Acceptance of cultivars is more narrow. This website is not intended to be an encyclopedia of named adeniums. There are many thousands, most of which are no longer in existence. Criteria for addition: 1. It stands out among the multitude of adeniums in at least one major trait… 2. Or it is historically important , e.g., as the founder of a major breeding line. 3. And it is substantially different from other cultivars already on this website. 3. It has been propagated and distributed to others, at least locally. C. In all cases, please send large photos , at least 1500 px or 2 MB, up to 15 MB. Comments, Corrections, and Additional Information. First name Last name Email Write a message Upload File Upload supported file (Max 15MB) Submit Thanks for submitting! Contribute Photos Your Name Email Category of contribution * Required Wild Plant Cultivar For Wild Plants Location (specific as possible) For Cultivars Parentage (if known, e.g., arabicum x obesum, or arabicum 'Shada' x obesum 'Dazzler') Distinguishing Traits* Proposed cv. name Creator (if known), or Place Obtained Upload File Upload supported file (Max 15MB) Submit Thanks for contributing! Adenium 'National Beauty'

Publications Taxonomy article Adenium: Sculptural Elegance, Floral Extravagance Dimmitt, Joseph, & Palzkill 2009 Adenium Taxonomy and Nomenclature Dimmitt & Edwards 2021 Adenium Taxonomia y Nomenclatur a Translated by Osmar Barboza (unpublished) Adeniums (Desert Rose) in Cultivation Dimmitt 2022 Adenium Culture in Hot, Arid Climates Characteristics of Adenium Species & Hybrids

Adenium swazicum Stapf Adenium swazicum occurs in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and adjacent parts of South Africa. The stems tend to be weak and decumbent, and the caudex (actually swollen roots) tends to be underground. Plants flower in late summer and fall (some clones flower most of the year). The best distinguishing character is the petals of solid color (no fading toward the throat), which is darker in color and lacks nectar guides. In addition, the anther appendages are very short and hidden within the tube. A. boehmianum is the only other species that shares these floral traits. The 2 species are distinguished by growth form: swazicum is a lax shrub while boehmianum is erect and usually arborescent. White flowers occur in cultivation. A. swazicum 'Perpetual Pink '. This clone is a more sturdy plant than is typical of the species, and it flowers year-round. Flower of A. swazicum 'Perpetual Pink'. A. swazicum flower. A. swazicum 'Boyce Thompson ' . This clone has the typical weak stems of the species, but it blooms 9 months a year with very dark purple flowers. A. swazicum 'Boyce Thompson ' . A. swazicum double flower. It does not appear to be in circulation. Photo: John Lucas Adenium swazicum in the Wild Adenium swazicum in the Hlane Game Reserve, northeastern Eswatini. The plants are often short because they are periodically burned to the ground in brush fires and grazed by impala. Photos: James Culverwell Note: A. swazicum is becoming rare and difficult to find because it is extensively collected by local people for medicine. I would love to post more photos of this plant in the wild. If you have any, please contribute photos and a description using this form . Due credit will be given. Back to Top Footnotes