| Distribution of Hoodia Gordonii: |
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| Tuesday, 23 September 2008 | |
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You can find Hoodia Gordonii in the Kalahari Desert where the San live. It is also found in the South African border and Namibia. It was first discovered by Col. R.J. Gordon and hence it is known as Gordonii. Hoodia gordonii is a small plant that is around 45cm tall which consists of normal brown-spined stem angles. The stems are normally greyish-brown in color and the new growth looks light green. Hoodia Gordonii has flowers that are saucer shaped and the flowers are around 70-100 mm in diameter. They are light purple in color. The flowers have a foul smell. The basic pollinators of Hoodia Gordonii are flies as they are attracted to flowers that have foul smell. Full sun is best suited for Hoodia Gordonii but it can stand light shade too. But one has to careful while watering it as it is prone to rot. They have to be watered with great care during winter. Hoodia Gordonii is also prone to getting attacked by mealy bug, particularly on the roots. So you will have to treat them at least once a month by soaking the soil with pesticide to get rid of mealy bugs. Hoodia Gordonii can also rot due to over-watering. In case it begins to rot then you will have to take out the detritus away from the healthy parts by cutting it off. Later the Hoodia stems have to be sealed with a sealer or some ash. Treat the plant with fungicide before trying to root the cuttings. In order to speed up the rooting procedure you could dip the first 2-3 cm of the healthy stems into rooting hormone. Put your cuttings into clean river sand and spray every now and then with a fine mist. In order to know if the cuttings have set root you could pull the plant slowly and in case there is resistance then there are large chances that yours cuttings have rooted. |
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