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Cultivars of Adenium socotranum 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.

Superior Cultivars of Adenium crispum Back to Gallery 'Famous Ancestor' 'Famous Ancestor' (MAD106) Above: A specimen of 'Famous Ancestor' grafted onto a 3-foot tall rootstock 9 years earlier. A. crispum can grow large and fast when boosted by a vigorous rootstock. Above: The excellent flower of 'Famous Ancestor'. Few plants of this species have such bold nectar guides. Parentage: Adenium crispum Origin: Seed from a plant collected by Gerald Barad and Seymour Linden in the 1980s. Selected by Dimmitt in 1989. Plant form: Small, spreading shrub, typical of the species, with a small caudex and large swollen roots. Flower: Star-shaped, 40 mm diameter x 13 mm petal width. Petals strongly quilled, pink with very prominent extensions of the red nectar guides that extend all the way to the petal tips, and these are flanked by numerous fine red lines. Throat wide, white with prominent nectar guides. Blooms profusely in spring and sporadically in other warm months. Notes : This is the only known Ade nium crispum cultivar of importance. It is a major contribution to horticulture. This clone is evidently the ancestor of all adeniums with patterned flowers (splashes, blotches, and stripes). See Dimmitt, Joseph, and Palzkill 2009 for details. Left: The wild-collected seed parent of 'Famous Ancestor'. The fusiform caudex is typical of the species, and was below ground. In cultivation most seedlings develop multiple succulent roots. Back to Menu

Other Taxa & Unknowns "somalense nova" "Thai Socotranum" Sahel Group Lake Eyasi mystery som. - crisp. intergrade A. coetanum? The Sahel Group Adeniums in the Sahel west of Ethiopia are of unknown identity. There are a few herbarium specimens, but no live plants in cultivation that are available for study. In photos the plants look much like A. somalense , but the leaves and flowers look more like those of A. "obesum ". If anyone has more photos or live plants from the Sahel (any country east of Ethiopia), please contact me . Above: Plants of Adenium sp. near Tintane (west of Nema), in southeast Mauritania; bush grassland. Plants from this region have been described as A. honghel ; there are no specimens available for study. Photos: Helene Jousse (via Jan Schlogl) Above: Plants and flowers of Adenium sp. near Tintane (west of Nema), in southeast Mauritania; bush grassland. Plants from this region have been described as A. honghel ; there are no specimens available for study. Photos: Helene Jousse (via Jan Schlogl) Above: Two plants of an Adenium sp. near Bénoué National Park, northern Cameroon. Plants west of here have been described as A. honghel ; plants to the east have been described as A. speciosum . There are no specimens available for study. Photos: Joel Peterson Back to Top Adenium speciosum? Left two: Plant and flowers of an adenium near Kauda, South Kordofan, Sudan. It looks similar to A. somalense in Ethiopia and Kenya, but plants from this region have been described as Adenium speciosum . Click to enlarge. Photos: submitted by Ricardo Denis. Adenium honghel? Left two: Adeniums near Bakel, Senegal. Right two: Adenium near Kedougou, Senegal; this is a mesic habitat for adeniums. Plants from this region have been described as Adenium honghel . The flowers at first appear to have dark throats, but they actually have pink throats overlain with very thick nectar guides. Click to enlarge. Photos: submitted by Ricardo Denis. Right two: Adenium near Yankari, Alkaleri, NG-BA, Nigeria. Plants from this region have been described as Adenium honghel . This plants's flowers look much like those above from Senegal. Again, the dark-appearing throats are caused by thick nectar guides. Photos submitted by Ricardo Denis. Adenium "somalense nova" This taxon was discovered in the mid 1990s in Tanzania, and is in the trade as Adenium "somalense nova". The name is enclosed in double quotation marks to indicate that it is not validly published. In nature the caudex is globular and buried underground, with erect, barely succulent stems to about 4 feet (1.2 m) tall. In cultivation seedlings develop a short-conical caudex that is partially exposed. The plants grow fairly rapidly and make a large caudex compared to the size of the plant in a few years. The small flowers start appearing sparsely at the end of the growing season in fall, followed by a more profuse bloom through the winter while the plants are leafless. They are pink to red at the edges, fading to a white throat with prominent nectar guides. The anther appendages protrude slightly beyond the tube. Another population that looks very much like this taxon has been found more than 100 km away. Adenium "somalense nova" collected in Tanzania. The caudexes were underground. Photo: Andre Williams Six-year-old seedling of Adenium "somalense nova" in a 16-inch pot beginning to flower at the end of the growing season. Six-year-old seedling of Adenium "somalense nova" in a 16-inch pot flowering during winter dormancy. Left and Right: Flowers of Adenium "somalense nova" . This group of Adenium "somalense nova" were grown by Hiren Vaghela. This distinct strain has very narrow leaves. Click to enlarge. Photos: Hiren Vaghela. Adenium "somalense nova" in the Wild Above: Adenium "somalense nova" east of Usambara Mountains south of Same, Tanzania. Right: Same plant with caudex excavated. This is a small plant. Photos: Chuck Hanson Back to Top Adenium "Thai socotranum" Adenium "Thai socotranum", also called "Thai soco", are not related to A. socotranum. They are in fact dwarf forms of A. "arabicum" bred in Asia. They are extremely popular, and there are many named varieties. See more examples in the Thai socos section in the A. "arabicum" page "Thai Socotranum" Photo: John Franklin Roosevelt Back to Top A. "obesum" near Lake Eyasi, Tanzania Anomalous adenium plants near Lake Eyasi, Arusha, Tanzania. This is in the geographic range of A. "obesum ", but the plants are unusually caudiciform. More important, the flowers are atypical of either species, but closely match those of A. swazicum or boehmianum hundreds of miles to the south. There is a population of these anomalous white-flowered, dark-throated adeniums growing on a rocky granite hill above a hot spring. Photos: David Bygott. NOTE: There are surely many other anomalous adenium populations in the wild. If you know of any, please contribute photos and other information to further our knowledge of these plants. Back to Top Right: ...and a gigantic specimen in the same locality. Click to enlarge. Photo: Chris Schmeling via David Bygott A. somalense-crispum intergrade? Adenium near Bulo Burri (Bulobarde), Somalia, between the ranges of somalense and crispum. The leaves appear to be linear and crisped like crispum, but this is a tree like somalense. What is it? These two taxa hybridize readily in cultivation. Photo: John Lavranos. Adenium coetanum ? An Adenium in the Dirashe District of southwestern Ethiopia, near the borders with South Sudan and Kenya. The plant is the size of A. somalense , and it occurs within the range of that species. But the leaves look like those of "obesum ", which begins in southern Kenya. The flowers appear to have dark throats,which, if true, is not characteristic of East African adeniums. This plant is not far from an herbarium specimen labeled A. coetanum . This plant also resembles the old cultivar 'Singapore ', which has been sold as A. coetanum . DNA analysis indicates that 'Singapore ' is an intergrade between A. "obesum " and A. somalense (Dimmitt and Edwards 2021 ). Photos: (contributed by Ricardo Denis). Left: This photo was taken in Ethiopia, where adeniums "should be" A. somalense . But the foliage and flower look like those of A. "obesum ". Perhaps this is what has been described as A. coetanum . Photo: Jim & Roxie Esterle Back to Top Footnotes

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Adenium " arabicum" x crispum hybrids As far as I know, Miles Anderson of Miles’ to Go Nursery is the only person who has successfully made this F 1 cross. He got only five viable plants, but they were fertile. They have the large caudexes and sturdy, erect branches of “arabicum ”; the small plant size, foliage, and flowers were heavily do minated by the crispum parent. Third generation plants that I grew from these plants still showed the striped petals, and mostly quilled petals. Some of these are larger, up to five feet (1.5 m) tall. In my opinion the main value of this line is contributing smaller size and striped flowers into the “arabicum” x “obesum” x crispum line . These hybrids are apparently tetraploid, because they cross only with other 4n adeniums. Above left: The star-shaped flowers of some clones have flat petals, but most will quill in a couple of days (right). Left: One of Miles Anderson's original F1 plants of Adenium "arabicum" x crispum. The caudexes are very large compared to plant size. Photo: Miles Anderson. Miles Anderson's F2 crosses of Adenium "arabicum" x crispum also have relatively huge caudexes, but the flowers are still quilled. The promise of these plants is to get cripsum 's patterned flowers and smaller plant size into the tetraploid arabicum-"obesum " line. Plant at left is 5 years old in a 14-inch pot. Footnotes

Adenium "arabicum " Balf. f. Adenium "arabicum" occurs in a narrow strip along the southwestern coast of the Arabian peninsula. The specific epithet is enclosed in double quotation marks because it is an incorrect name. See the page on Nomenclature Issues for details. Plants in cultivation are almost all spreading shrubs with huge, squat caudexes (but see the section on wild variation below). They are usually vigorous and can grow to several feet tall and wide in 10 years with generous culture. Stems are sturdy and upright or ascending. Foliage is quite variable in size and shape, but are usually recognizable by aficionados of the genus. Leaves may be shiny-smooth or softly hairy; this trait has no taxonomic relevance. Compact and dwarf plants exist in cultivation and in the wild. Flowers are usually 1.5 to 2 inches wide, with petals varying from narrow and pointed (star-shaped flowers) to broad and overlapping (circular flowers). Flowers are almost invariably some shade of pink at the margins and fading to white at the throat. The throat is white or yellow, with or without nectar guides. The anther appendages extend to the edge of the throat or a little beyond. Most plants flower profusely in spring before leafing out. Large plants tend to be evergreen. Some varieties flower mainly in summer, and selected clones also flower sporadically throughout the year. Adenium "arabicum " 'Yemeni Giant ', 3 years old in 12-inch pot. They can grow even faster. Flower of Adenium "arabicum " plant at left . An Adenium "arabicum " with star-shaped flowers Adenium "arabicum " 'Sheila Collenette ' from Saudi Arabia. This plant is in the ground under a fiberglass roof. It had just survived a few nights of 22° F (-5° C) with only minor tip damage. The plant is 8 years old with a caudex more than a foot wide. Adenium "arabicum " 'Sheila Collenette ' from Saudi arabia, same plant as one at left flowering a year later. This plant has glabrous leaves; these are found scattered among the more common hairy-leafed plants. Adenium "arabicum" from Jebel Shada, Saudi Arabia. This plant was the fastest growing in a batch of seedlings. It is 11 years old in a 42-inch pot; the caudex is almost 3 feet across. Adenium "arabicum " flower on a plant from Jebel Shada, Saudi Arabia. This one lacks nectar guides. Adenium "arabicum" 'Hansoti Dwarf' has reddish flowers. This clone has been in cultivation in India since at least the 1930s. It most likely originated on the Aden Peninsula, the type locality for A. "arabicum" . Adenium "arabicum " flower with dark color. This A. "arabicum" has near-white flowers. Back to Top Left: Adenium "arabicum" grows large enough to make splendid landscape plants in tropical climates, such as this one in Florida USA. Photo: Ray Lemieux "Thai socotranum" & other dwarf A. "arabicum " Adenium "Thai socotranum ", also called "Thai soco", are not related to Adenium socotranum . They are in fact dwarf forms of A. "arabicum " bred in Asia. They are extremely popular, and there are many named varieties. The names of Thai soco plants are treated as cultivars, but they are probably not. They are defined by their physical forms that are created not only by their genetics, but largely by how they are groomed (pruned and trained) to look like miniature examples of wild Adenium socotranum (Ashish Hansoti, written communication). Thus the names are more like the terms that define bonsai styles. There are dwarf populations and isolated individuals of A. "arabicum" in nature. There are also dwarf cultivars that were developed outside of Asia. See below and the superior cultivars page. Left: Adenium "arabicum " 'Petch Na Wan ' was purchased as a small seedling in 2009. Far left: plant at 14 years old. Near left: 22 years old. Not pruned or trained. Right: Adenium "arabicum " 'Golden Crown' was purchased as a small seedling in 2003. Shown at 17 years old, not pruned or trained. Left: Adenium "arabicum " 'MAD967' is a seedling from 'Petch Na Wan, shown at 10 years old. Not pruned or trained. Right: Adenium "arabicum " 'MAD965' is a seedling from the Thai soco 'Petch Ban Na' crossed with the wild collected 'Hansoti Dwarf', shown at 10 years old. Not pruned or trained. Back to Top Left: Adenium "arabicum " 'Arbolito' is a seedling from 'RCN' ('Queen of a Thousand Flowers'), which is a huge plant. Most of the seeds I grew were big plants, but one became this miniature tree; it's 2 feet tall at 11 years old. Not pruned or trained. Adenium "arabicum" in the wild This gallery shows some of the huge variation that is found in wild A. "arabicum" . Adenium "arabicum" on Jabal Shada, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sheila Collenette April 1995. Adenium "arabicum" , an arborescent specimen in Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sheila Collenette. Adenium "arabicum" near Talalah, Saudi Arabia. This is a high elevation form dwarfed by freezing temperatures. The stems don't extend beyond the protection of the overhanging rock. Photo: Sheila Collenette. An arborescent Adenium "arabicum" in Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sheila Collenette. A beautiful Adenium "arabicum" tree near Haqw (between Muhayl and Ad Darb, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sheila Collenette. Several plants of Adenium "arabicum" growing on a rock outcrop near Lejib Gorge (Wadi Lajab), Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sheila Collenette. A huge specimen of Adenium "arabicum" near Moraiwa, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sheila Collenette. A huge Adenium "arabicum" near the base of Al Abna Descent, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Sheila Collenette. Above and below: Flowers of Adenium "arabicum" in Saudi Arabia. Photos: Sheila Collenette. A huge tree of Adenium "arabicum" on Jabal Shada, Saudi Arabia. This mountain has both shrubby and arborescent adeniums, as well as dwarf ones at high elevations where they are frost-pruned. Photo: Sheila Collenette. Adenium "arabicum" in SW Yemen. Photo: Toni Yocum. Adenium "arabicum" in SW Yemen. Photo: Toni Yocum. Adenium "arabicum" in SW Yemen. Photo: Robert H. Webb. Above: Flowers of two Adenium "arabicum" in SW Yemen. Below: typical foliage of the species. Photos: Robert H. Webb. Adenium "arabicum" in SW Yemen. Photo: Robert H. Webb, December 2007. A 3-trunked Adenium "arabicum" , intermediate form between shrub and tree. Near Al Mukalla, Yemen. Photo: Robert H. Webb. Adenium "arabicum" near Al Mukalla, central Yemen coast. At least 5 plants are visible in the center image. Inset: Flower from this locality. Photos: Robert H. Webb, December 2007. Adenium "arabicum" on the Hajja road at the east edge of the Tihama Plain, Yemen. Photo: Robert H. Webb, December 2007. Toni Yocum with an Adenium "arabicum" on the Hajja road at the east edge of the Tihama Plain, Yemen. This population has many arborescent specimens. Photo: Robert H. Webb, December 2007. Adenium "arabicum" on the Hajja road at the east edge of the Tihama Plain, Yemen. Photo: Robert H. Webb, December 2007. Above: Adenium "arabicum" on Jabal Soodah, Saudi Arabia. A fruit from one of these plants founded the Soodah Dwarf strain in cultivation. All of the seeds produced dwarf plants, even though there are arborescent plants nearby. Photo: Tom McCoy. Right: Adenium "arabicum" collected as a tiny seedling on Jabal Shamsan, Aden Peninsula, Yemen, by John Lavranos #1694. This is the type locality of A. "arabicum" . Left, above, right, & below: Adenium "arabicum" in high mountains near Al Bahah, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Boris Vrskovy (Puk). Left, above, & right: Adenium "arabicum" near Tihama, Yemen. Photo: Boris Vrskovy (Puk). Back to Top Footnotes

Hybrids The vast majority of adenium hybrids are made with only three species: A. "obesum", swazicum, and crispum. I am working extensively with "arabicum" hybrids. Beyond those four, there is a small number of hybrids using other species. "obesum" x swazicum crispum x "obesum" "arabicum" x "obesum" "arabicum" x crispum "arabicum" x crispum x "obesum"

Adenium socotranum Vierh. Adenium socotranum is endemic to the island of Socotra. It is by far the largest species, reaching a height of 15 feet (4.6 m) with a cylindrical trunk up to 8 feet (2.5 m) in diameter at the base. It has a very short growing season. Plants rarely leaf out before mid summer, and stem growth occurs in a single spurt that lasts for only a few weeks. The pink flowers appear in spring while the plants are leafless. The species is easy to grow, but it is very slow. It's difficult to flower. Desert heat and cool nights both seem to inhibit flowering. Under warm greenhouse conditions flowering seems to be triggered by an irrigation during the spring dry season. Plants grown in Asia labeled "Thai socotranum " and "Thai soco "are in fact dwarf varieties of A. "arabicum ". The Above Two: A flat of 2-year old Adenium socotranum seedlings. Right: The seedlings bare-rooted for planting out. This species has huge variation in seedling vigor, more than any other adenium that I've grown. Adenium socotranum seedlings at six years of age. The ruler is 12 inches/30 cm. Above 3 images: Left: Adenium socotranum flowering for the first time at 10 years age. The plant was beheaded when 7 years old to make it branch. Center: The same plant at 20 years from seed. Right: Its caudex at 23 years old in a 24-inch box. This is the most vigorous soco that I've grown out of about 30. Above 3 images: Flowers of three clones of A. socotranum in cultivation. Back to Top Adenium socotranum in the Wild Few of us mortal humans will live long enough to grow Adenium socotranum to its full potential size. The next best option is to enjoy photos from travelers who have been fortunate to visit Socotra. Enjoy this eye candy, with gratitude to several photographers! Adenium socotranum seedling near Qaysoh. Photo: Dylan Hannon A dark-flowered Adenium socotranum seedling at Wadi Darhu. Photo: Dylan Hannon Adenium socotranum on Homhil Plateau. Photo: Dylan Hannon Adenium socotranum . Photo: John Lavranos. Above Two Images: Flowers of Adenium socotranum . Photos: Greg Corman Three monstrous specimens of Adenium socotranum . Photos: Greg Corman. Back to Top Gallery of photos by Robert H. Webb and Toni Yocum Adeniums are locally abunant on Socotra. Back to Top Gallery of photos by Gaetano Moschetti Back to Top Footnotes

Back To Gallery Cultivars of Adenium oleifolium 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 "obesum" x "arabicum" hybrids First generation hybrids between this tetraploid and diploid species are very rare, probably because the odd number of chromosomes (3n, triploid) in the fertilized ova can’t pair up during cell division. Out of more than two hundred controlled pollinations, I have obtained fewer than 10 viable seedlings. All of these F 1 (primary, first generation) crosses are tetraploid and strongly resemble the “arabicum” parent. It’s apparent that “arabicum ” occasionally makes triploid ova, which, when fertilized by a haploid “obesum ” sperm cell, forms two pairs of each homologous chromosome (Richard J. “Jake” Henny, written communication). Therefore F1 hybrids are 3/4 "arabicum", which explains the dominance of this species' characteristics in the hybrids. Fortunately, some of the hybrids are fertile. The F 1 and subseque nt generations of this breeding line have impressive hybrid vigor, and can rapidly grow into huge specimens. The first one, named ‘Arabian Ruby’ is the most vigorous adenium that I have ever seen. At ten years of age, it filled a 42-inch (107 cm) pot with a multi-stemmed base almost three feet (91 cm) thick. Cuttings of this plant are also vigorous and very caudiciform . Most other plants of this interspecific hybrid are also very large. In subsequent generations the “arabicum ” parentage remains heavily dominant in plant form. The “obesum ” parentage shows in the large, brightly colored flowers (three to four inches, 76-102 mm wide), and unfortunately, a tendency to weak stems. After four generations of selection, some excellent reds are showing up. See the superior cultivars page for a gallery of these hybrids. Adenium 'Arabian Ruby' is probably the first hybrid between A. "arabicum" and A. "obesum". It is also the most vigorous adenium that I've ever encountered. The seedling grew rapidly to enormous size, a classic example of hybrid vigor. See the gallery of superior cultivars for more details on this and other hybrids of this line. Above: Flowers of Adenium 'Arabian Ruby'. Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Arabian Ruby' at ten years old. Above: Adenium 'Bouquet'. Above: Adenium 'Crimson Tower'. Above: Adenium 'Prolific Behemoth'. Above left: Adenium 'Ginormous Red' at 11 years old; right: 13 years. Footnotes