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Adenium crispum Adenium crispum occurs in a band of sandy soil near the coast of southern Somalia. (It has not been formally published as a full species, but as A. somalense var. crispum Chiov.) In nature the fusiform caudex is subterranean. Most of the root system arises from near the top of this caudex. In cultivation the caudex is raised above soil level, and the caudex reroots from the bottom. The stems are thin and rarely exceed a foot tall. The small flowers are very distinctive and serve as the best identifier: most clones have quilled petals (curled longitudinally). And most notably, the nectar guides extend well onto the petals, often all the way to the tips. (The flowers of some A. somalense have nectar guides onto the petals, but the petals are only slightly or not at all quilled.) The anther appendages often extend beyond the throat. Flat-petaled and solid red-petaled plants are known. It is not widely cultivated, probably because it is very cold-sensitive and intolerant of hot, humid weather. Adenium crispum , a collected plant. Note the scars from the original roots near the top of the caudex. An unusually tall A. crispum . W hen grafted onto a large rootstock, Adenium crispum can grow huge. This 5-year-old graft of 'Famous Ancestor ' is more than 2 meters tall, half of which is the rootstock. 4 years old in a 6-inch pot. 10 years old in a 12-inch bonsai pot. Above 3 photos: seed-grown Adenium crispum 'MAD 297', showing its slow growth through the years. 22 years old in a 16-inch bonsai pot. Flower of A. crispum 'Famous Ancestor ' with especially prominent, long nectar guides and strongly quilled petals. Back to Top A selection of Adenium crispum flowers in cultivation, showing variation in petal color, shape, and nectar guides. Adenium crispum in the Wild Adenium crispum near Warshak, Somalia Photo: Myron Kimnach Adenium crispum 40 km north of Mogadishu, Somalia on road to Warshedih Photos: John Lavranos Adenium crispum 40 km north of Mogadishu, Somalia on road to Warshedih. Photo: John Lavranos Two plants of Adenium crispum with solid red flowers. Above left: Somalia, location unknown. Photo: John Lavranos Above right: 40 km north of Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo: Gerald Barad. John Lavranos displays a recently collected plant of Adenium crispum in Somalia. Note the feeding roots on the top of the subterranean caudex. Photo: John Lavranos Back to Top Footnotes

Adenium "obesum " Roem. & Schult. Adenium "obesum" occurs in southeastern Kenya, eastern Tanzania, and northeastern Mozambique. The specific epithet is enclosed in double quotation marks because it's an incorrect name. See the nomenclature issues page for explanation. Cultivated plants of Adenium "obesum" are usually spreading shrubs with weak branches that tend to droop. Some selected cultivars are upright. Most plants have poorly developed caudexes, but a few will produce big ones with time. The flowers are the largest in the genus, typically 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and some cultivars exceed 4 inches. Petal color of wild plants is usually pink on the margins, gradually fading to white at the white or yellow throat. Modern cultivars display a wide range of brilliant colors, some with little or no fading toward the center. Flowering peaks in spring, with a smaller peak in autumn. The best cultivars are nearly everblooming. Nectar guides in the throat are usually faint or absent. The anther appendages extend to the edge of the throat or a little beyond. This is the only species that does not have a requisite winter dormant period; it can grow year round under tropical conditions. Even if dried out in winter, it tends to remain evergreen. Adenium "obesum" and its hybrids are the most common adeniums in cultivation. They have been highly selected, and are now available in a wide range of colors, including white, purple, red, and yellow. There are also bicolors, double flowers, and mutants with variegated or colored leaves. See the gallery of superior cultivars for examples of modern varieties. Above: A typical wild type Adenium "obesum" from the early 1980s. Notice the pink flowers and neglible caudex. This plant is much more upright than is typical of the species. See flower below. Above: A. "obesum" 'Red Everbloomer ', a 4-year old cutting. Image below is its flower. This is a Dimmitt selection resulting from 3 generations of breeding darker-flowered plants. Above: A. "obesum" 'Red Cloud', a Taiwan selection from 2000. The Taiwan Red strain typically has large, shiny green leaves. There are many cultivars with superb red flowers. Flower closeup is below. Above: Flowers of a typical wild type A. "obesum" . Other colors are rare in the wild. Note the fading of petal color toward the throat in all of the images of this species. Above: A. "obesum" 'Red Everbloomer '. When it first flowered in 1980, it was an excellent and exciting new color. Today it's mediocre. This is how far adenium breeding has come in 25 years. Above: A. "obesum" 'Red Cloud'. This was the best plant from 1000 seeds imported from Taiwan in 1999. See plant above. Above: A. "obesum " 'Black Ruby '. This clone flowers profusely and develops a tall, conical caudex; the plant is a 7 year old graft (the rootstock has been cropped off the image). It appears to be of the Taiwan Red strain, but it is more cold tolerant than most of those plants bred in the tropics. Above: Flower of A. "obesum" 'Black Ruby '. This cultivar was discovered in the early 1990s in a Florida nursery by James Georgusis. Beyond that its origin is unknown. The flower quality has been surpassed by numerous Taiwan selections, but this is still a great plant because of its substantial caudex, which is cylindrical or narrowly conical. Above: A. "obesum " 'Incandescent'. This is an offspring of 'Black Ruby' bred by Dimmitt in 2001. A. "obesum " 'Incandescent' flowers profusely nearly year-round. A. "obesum ", a good early pink cultivar bred by Ashish Hansoti. A. "obesum" 'MAD #286', a pink picotee with yellow throat bred by Dimmitt from Ashish Hansoti stock A. "obesum " in Vietnam. The one on the left shows the species' typical lack of a caudex. These plants have been potted higher to expose the thick roots. The plant on the right has developed a succulent trunk, which is technically not a caudex. Photo: Bev Tall. These two screenshots are from the 1971 Bruce Lee martial arts movie Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury). The final scene was filmed on an estate in Thailand, where there were numerous potted A. "obesum " around the property. Adeniums were very rare in cultivation that long ago. All of the plants are very similar - non-caudiciform shrubs with pink flowers. They're probably the same clone, grown from cuttings. Above and right: Ashish Hansoti's Tropica Nursery near Mumbai. Photos taken in 2008 of his collection of A. "obesum " that he acquired during the 1980s. There was very little diversity in adeniums at the time. Photo on right: Kevin Barber. Back to Top Above: John Lucas at his Tradewinds South Nursery (Florida) pollinating his huge specimen of A. "obesum " 'Big Mama' in the 1990s. This plant appears to have a true caudex between the roots and stems. Adenium "obesum" in the Wild Above and right: Adenium "obesum" near Nairobi, Kenya. The caudexes are underground. Some of these wild plants can be underwhelming. Photos: Robert H. Webb Above: Adenium "obesum" near Mombasa, Kenya. Photo: Gaetano Moschetti Above: Adenium "obesum" near Mombasa, Kenya. Photo: Gaetano Moschetti Above: Flowers of an Adenium "obesum" near Mombasa, Kenya. Photo: Gaetano Moschetti Above: Adenium "obesum" near Lake Natron,Tanzania. The usually subterranean roots have either been exposed by erosion, or because the plant is growing in rocky ground. Photo: Robert H. Webb Above: Adenium "obesum" near Samburo West, Kenya. The petals are darker than is typical of the species. Photo: Robert H. Webb Above: Adenium "obesum" near Salaita Hill, Kenya. Photo: James Culverwell. Back to Top Above: Adenium "obesum " "Mombasa form", grown from seed collected from the well-known population along the Nairobi-Mombasa road, Kenya. 1. This population is known to grow large caudexes. 2. Not all wild adeniums have beautiful flowers. Photos: David Palzkill. Footnotes

Cultivation What is Dormancy? What is Actively Growing? Adenium "arabicum " cultivar 'MAD 965' Adenium Culture Characteristics of Adenium Species Anchor 1 Download PDF: Anchor 2 Download PDF: Dormancy In botany, "dormant" means not actively growing. Dormant plants may retain leaves and still conduct photosynthesis, and they may also flower. Dormant and deciduous. Water consumption is nearly zero. Adenium "arabicum". In leaf, but dormant because no new leaves are being produced. Adenium "obesum". Water such plants sparingly; it doesn't consume much in this state. In leaf, but dormant because no new leaves are being produced. Adenium "obesum". Water such plants sparingly; it doesn't consume much in this state. Dormant and deciduous, but flowering. Water use is still minimal. Adenium "arabicum" 'Hansoti Dwarf'. In leaf and flowering, but it's still dormant because no new leaves are being produced. This plant uses much less water than when it is growing new stems. Adenium "arabicum" In some adeniums part or all of the foliage will suddenly turn yellow and fall. This plant has entered dormancy and watering must be sharply reduced or stopped. Adenium crispum X "obesum" hybrid 'New Star'. The dormant plant is flanked by two other crispum hybrids that are still actively growing. Growing and Active In botany, "dormant" means not actively growing. Dormant plants may retain leaves and still conduct photosynthesis, and they may also flower. This Adenium socotranum is breaking dormancy. Water use is still low, but it needs some to stimulate waking up. This 'Arabian Ruby' was evergreen through the winter, and is now breaking dormancy by producing new leaves in spring. Growing: The soft green stem of this 'Crimson Star' reveals active stem elongation as well as rapid new leaf production. This 'Arabian Ruby' was evergreen through the winter, and is now breaking dormancy by producing new leaves in spring. Active. Not dormant, but not really growing either. If kept warm and moist in winter, some adeniums continue making new leaves at a slow pace, but stem elongation is minimal. Water use is much less than during the summer growing season. Footnotes

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

Back to Gallery Cultivars of Rare Crosses or Unknown Parentage Here are a few oddballs that don't fit anywhere else. 'Beautiful Mule' 'Flame Tree' 'Bohemian Splash' 'Singapore' 'Candy Stripes' 'Crimson Picotee' 'Winter Remedy' 'Beautiful Mule' Parentage: Complex hybrid involving Adenium "obesum", swazicum, and crispum . ('Candy Stripes' x 'Black Raspberry') 'Candy Stripes' = A. crispum 'Famous Ancestor' x A. swazicum 'Perpetual Pink' 'Black Raspberry' = A. crispum 'Famous Ancestor' x A. "obesum " 'Black Ruby' Creator: Dimmitt 2003 Plant form: Naturally arborescent with thick trunk, major branches, and massive roots. Foliage resembles that of "obesum", except for more prominent white veins as in crispum. Deciduous. It can also branch basally and become a shrub. Flower: Round at first; with age the petals elongate and quill, becoming more star-shaped. Diameter at one week 84 mm, 35 mm petal width. Petals solid crimson-red outer halves, fading to pink at throat. Throat red with darker red strong nectar guides that extend onto the petals halfway to the tips. There are white calluses where each pair of petals fuse at the throat. (They turn red in older flowers.) Flowers continuously from mid spring through late autumn. Notes: I had high hopes for this cultivar when it was young. I love tree adeniums, and the flowers borne at eye level. Alas, it's completely sterile, hence the name. It seems to have no pollen, and it has never set a fruit. Worse still, although it roots easily from cuttings, it is exceptionally susceptible to root rot. I have lost many plants from watering once too late in the fall or too early in the spring. I don't sell it except to the most avid and diligent collectors. Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Beautiful Mule', 17 years old in an 18-inch pot. Far left: a new flower of adenium 'Beautiful Mule', showing excellent shape. Left: week-old flowers, showing how the petals elongate as the flower ages. The right photo shows more accurate color - crimson-red. Back to Menu Above: A grafted plant of adenium 'Bohemian Splash', about 7 years old. The original seedling is slow-growing. 'Bohemian Splash' (MAD639) Parentage: Complex hybrid involving Adenium boehmianum, "obesum", and crispum . A. boehmianum 'MAD193' x 'Happy Princess' Creator: Dimmitt 2010 Plant form: Vigorous (on grafts) upright shrub or tree with sturdy branches; tends to grow taller than wide. Deciduous. Flower: Round, 60 mm diameter x 26 mm petal width. Petals pink with many fine dark pink lines almost to the tips. Throat pinkish-red with prominent black nectar guides. Blooms prolifically from early summer to early winter. High flower count. Notes: This is my favorite boehmianum hybrid, because of its strong growth and profusion of colorful flowers. The great majority of boehmianum hybrids are weak and/or are very slow growing. They produce mostly inferior offspring in subsequent generations. Back to Menu Above: The flowers of adenium 'Bohemian Splash'. Left: A young grafted plant of adenium 'Bohemian Splash', about 2 years old. 'Candy Stripes' Parentage: Label lost; presumably Adenium crispum x swazicum . When this cross was made, the most likely parents were A. crispum 'Famous Ancestor' and A. swazicum 'Perpetual Pink' Creator: Dimmitt 2000 Plant form: Erect, arborescent, with large roots and thick main stems. Deciduous. Flower: Semi-star, 80 mm diameter x 27 mm petal width. Petals dark pink with 3 fine dark pink lines to the tips and numerous short streaks. Flowers age to light pink. Throat red with darker red nectar guides. Blooms prolifically during the warm months. Notes: The dark throat and short anther appendages indicate swazicum parentage (if it were boehmianum , it should contribute larger leaves); while the petal markings have to come from crispum. Neither species is known for having sturdy stems, so this erect plant is a treasure. This clone grows well from cuttings. I know of no other crispum-swazicum hybrids. Above: A new (left) and old flower of 'Candy Stripes'. Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Candy Stripes', 9 years old in a 24-inch box. Right: This hybrid of A. crispum x A. swazicum by JFR Exotics supports my conclusion about the parentage of 'Candy Stripes'. Photo: John Franklin Roosevelt. Back to Menu 'Crimson Picotee' Parentage: Primary hybrid between A. "obesum " and A. multiflorum . Creator: Dimmitt 1984 Plant form: Very large, erect shrub with thick, sturdy main branches and massive roots. Evergreen. Flower: Round-star, 70 mm diameter x 27 mm petal width. Petals white with broad bright red border. Throat white with few prominent nectar guides. Blooms sparsely but almost continuously year-round. Notes: I've made several "obesum"-multiflorum hybrids, but this was the only one worth keeping. The others were less vigorous, and flowered even more sparsely. Grows well from cuttings and makes a good grafting rootstock. Back to Menu Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Crimson Picotee', 10 feet tall in a 36-inch pot at 16 years old. Left two: the flowers of 'Crimson Picotee'. 'Flame Tree' Parentage: Complex hybrid of A. "obesum", swazicum, and somalense. ('Crimson Star' x A. somalense ) Creator: Dimmitt 1995 Plant form: Tree to at least 10 feet tall in 10 years, with thick cylindrical trunk. Roots not greatly swollen. Flower: Round/semi-star, 55 mm diameter x 20 mm petal width. Petals deep red, fading to near-white at the throat. Throat blackish-red with black nectar guides that extend halfway to petal tips as red lines. Notes: I have made only a few crosses with somalense, because I didn't have any good clones of the species until very recently. Such hybrids have little value as commercial pot plants because they get so big so fast. But they would make great landscape plants in tropical climates. I list this cultivar because I know of no similar hybrids. It also shows that somalense can contribute petal markings to hybrids. Do you have any somalense hybrids? Please contribute to our knowledge. Above left: The original seedling of adenium 'Flame Tree', 8 feet tall at 9 years old. Above right: The same plant at 17 years old, 10 feet tall in a 22-inch pot. Back to Menu Above: A 4-year-old cutting of adenium 'Singapore', already showing its conical caudex. 'Singapore' Parentage : Uncertain; possibly this is Adenium coetanum . See notes below. Origin: Introduced by the Singapore Botanical Garden in 1933. My plant is a cutting of Frank Horwood's clone from Abbey Garden. Plant form: Spreading shrub with conical caudex and swollen main stems. Evergreen. Flower: Very large, semi-star, 102 mm diameter x 30 mm petal width. Petals light pink with wide deep pink to light red margin. Throat white with few faint nectar guides. Blooms repeatedly during the warm months. Notes: This is the oldest named cultivar of adenium, dating to a time decades before adeniums became well known in horticulture. Albert Chan at the Singapore Botanic Garden showed the plant to the famous botanist Richard Eric Holttum. He identified the plant as A. coetanum , a taxon of questionable validity. There are a few herbarium specimens with this label that were collected from northern Uganda and Kenya south to northern Tanzania. Adeniums from this region are currently recognized as A. somalense in the north and A. "obesum " in the south. DNA analysis suggests that 'Singapore' is an obesum-somalense intergrade. Therefore it is probable, whatever its true identity is, that it originated in this region of East Africa. Frank Horwood succeeded in selfing his plant and obtained a handful of seedlings, which were fertile. All of the plants in the US labeled A. coetanum are probably descended from this one clone. Source: a 1980 letter from Frank Horwood . Above: The 4-inch flower of adenium 'Singapore'. Back to Menu Above: A 12-year-old cutting of adenium 'Singapore. 'Winter Remedy' Parentage: Adenium multiflorum x swazicum primary hybrid. (A. multiflorum 'MAD1' x A. swazicum 'Perpetual Pink' Creator: Dimmitt 1987. Plant form: Spreading shrub with massive roots. Semi-deciduous. Flower: Round/semi-star, 77 mm diameter x 27 mm petal width. Petals with wide medium pink margin, fading to near-white at throat. Throat red with no nectar guides. Flowers fade to light pink in a week. Inflorescence is indeterminate, produces buds and flowers for about 3 months. Winter blooming. Notes: This is one of a small number of winter-blooming adeniums. Above left: The flower of adenium 'Winter Remedy'. Above right: A 3-month old indeterminate inflorescense. The first flower was where my two fingers are gripping the peduncle. Back to Menu Above: The original seedling of adenium 'Winter Remedy' at 16 years old in a 24-inch pot. Cuttings grow the same massive roots in several years.

Adenium crispum x "obesum" hybrids This hybrid line was a huge breakthrough in adenium breeding. There were a few such crosses in the early 1990s in California and possibly elsewhere, but even though the F1 plants had the petal markings of crispum, the usually small, twisted flowers didn’t inspire much enthusiasm. In 1999 I sent a cutting of A. crispum to a collector in Taiwan (I later named it ‘Famous Ancestor’ . He propagated it and shared it with other growers. This species is difficult in hot, humid climates. The clone died out within a couple of years, but not before hybrids were made with A. “obesum”. First generation (F 1 ) hybrids inherit from "obesum" vigorous vegetative growth and large, colorful flowers. The crispum parent often contributes a substantial caudex, and quilled flowers with strong nectar guides that extend to the petal tips. Unfortunately, both parents tend to contribute weak stems. Plants of this line are usually slow-growing, taking at least 5 years to develop their character (in Arizona; they grow much faster in more tropical climates). After several generations the Taiwanese breeders had eliminated the quilled petals and created plants with large flat flowers exhibiting bold petal markings. The nectar guides on the petals often morph into bold blotches and stripes. All flowers with such petal markings are descended from A. crispum , and probably from 'Famous Ancestor'. By 2008 there were millions of plants and hundreds of stunning named cultivars all over Asia. The plants in this group are mostly small to medium-sized and slow-growing, with modest caudexes (about 2 feet [61 cm] tall and wide); but some are “obesum” -sized (3 to 4 feet [91-122 cm]). Only the best clones have sturdy stems; most need pruning every few years to maintain a neat form. Superior clones flower profusely throughout the warm season. Both parent species are very cold-sensitive, but many of the complex hybrids (second generation and beyond) are resilient as long as they’re kept dry during winter. Almost all cultivars on the market are grafted. See the superior cultivars page for a big gallery of these hybrids. Adenium ' Harry Potter ' was the first crispum-"obesum " hybrid with fairly flat petals and bold markings. The nectar guides have become blotchy stripes. It was created in Taiwan by C.F. Chang in 2003, only 4 years after the introduction of A. crispum . A first-day flower is at left; a week-old flower at right. A few more early crispum-"obesum " cultivars. Left: Adenium 'City' from Taiwan is an example of a flower with strong contrast between the background and the nectar guides. Below: New and older flowers of 'Star of Taiwan' Below: 'Classical' has bold blotches overlain by even bolder lines. Created by H.C. Chen. Footnotes

Hybrids containing Adenium " arabicum", "obesum", & crispum Crossing “arabicum” x “obesum ” plants with “arabicum” x “crispum ” plants creates a trifecta, my ideal adenium: medium-sized plants (three to five feet [90-150 cm] tall, from the crispum parentage) with comparatively large caudexes (from "arabicum " and crispum ), sturdy stems (from "arabicum"), and large flowers (three-plus inches [76+ mm] from "obesum ") that often have splashed petals (from crispum ). The plants are fast-growing and quite cool-tolerant; they don’t get root rot even if watered in winter. Many are evergreen and flower almost year round. Seedlings flower in a year or two. Cuttings root easily and produce caudexes in a few years. (Cuttings are more economical than grafting as is required of most “obesum” x crispum hybrids because of the former species' usually poor caudex development and the latter’s slow growth.) What more could a plant breeder ask for? This breeding line is my main focus now, and it appears that no other hybridizers are working with any "arabicum " interspecific hybrids. While these plants can still grow too large for the mass commercial market, their size can be limited by hard culture. See the superior hybrids page for more images and descriptions. Above two images: Adenium 'St. Elmo's Fire' is a typical example of complex hybrids containing Adenium "arabicum ", "obesum ", and crispum . The plant above is ten years old in a 16-inch pot, and is about two feet (60 cm) tall and three feet (90 cm) wide. See the gallery of superior cultivars for more hybrids in this line. Above: Adenium 'Nearly Perfect #777'. Above: Adenium 'Starbright'. Above: Adenium 'Radiant Dawn'. Footnotes

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

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 dhofarense Rzepecky Adenium dhofarense was described as a new species in 2015* ; it was previously considered part of A. "arabicum ". It occurs along the coast of Oman and extreme eastern Yemen, and is separated from A. "arabicum" by a 100 km gap where no adeniums occur. The plants are characterized by a broad, squat caudex up to a meter across.The stems are thin and usually floppy, and may root when they contact the ground. Some plants are erect. The leaves are the largest in the genus. The pink flowers usually appear in late spring before the plant leafs out. Flower size is usually small, but is variable. The plants grow very slowly. Adenium dhofarense in a 6-inch pot and is 3 years old from a tiny collected seedling. An Adenium "arabicum" of this age could be filling a 12-inch pot. Adenium dhofarense in a 6-inch pot at 6 years from a tiny collected seedling (different from one at left). This is a slow-growing species Typical flower of Adenium dhofarense . Adenium dhofarense in the wild Adenium dhofarense habitat on the cliffs above the Indian Ocean in Dhofar, Oman. Photo: Robert H. Webb. Adenium dhofarense near Mugsail, Oman (west of Salalah). The weak decumbent stems are characteristic of the species. Photos: Robert H. Webb. Bob Webb next to an Adenium dhofarense in Dhofar, Oman. Photo: Toni Yocum. Adenium dhofarense flowers in Dhofar, Oman. Photo: Robert H. Webb. Right: Toni Yocum next to an Adenium dhofarense in Dhofar, Oman. This plant has unusually erect stems. Photo: Robert H. Webb. Left and above: Adenium dhofarense in SW Yemen, showing its huge leaves. Photo: Boris Vrskovy (Puk). Back to Top Gallery of images by Gaetano Moschetti Plants that grow in extreme habitats take on fantastic forms! Alain Rzepecky and Adenium dhofarense . Photo: Alain Rzepecky. Marie Rzepecky and Adenium dhofarense . Photo: Alain Rzepecky. Muhammad al Shanfari (left) and Alain Rzepecky with Adenium dhofarense . Photo: Alain Rzepecky. Alain Rzepecky and Adenium dhofarense . Photo: Alain Rzepecky. The surrounding 4 photos show that Adenium dhofarense can grow tall and erect . Click on the thumbnails to see full-size images. Photos: Alain Rzepecky. Back to Top Footnotes Citation * Rzepecky, A. 2015. Adenium dhofarense. A long overlooked species from the central-southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Cact. Succ. J. (U.S.) 87(3):129–135.