Frerea indica: the stapeliad that almost got away

I received this plant in 2012 and was given to me by a Singaporean friend. I remember it being tiny and soft at first but it rooted quite quickly and grew healthy enough to finally produce a flower the following year. Over time, the stems lost its leaves and became quite pendent; old stems become knobby and gray. Since then the plant has become an often overlooked specimen, except when in bloom.

Frerea is a monotypic* genus represented by Frerea indica. As its name suggests, this plant is a native of India, in the Western Ghats in Maharashtra, and is locally known as 'Shindel Makudi'. The plant has received international recognition in being included in the 12 most endangered plant species in the world in the early 2000s. The plants were locally abundant, but the numbers were dropping and the habitat had shrunk so precariously in Pune (Naseem, 2010). The leaves are gathered by locals to be rubbed on injuries, and it may be that whole plants are getting uprooted for this purpose. There had been various interpretations about the species decline, with sources saying that the insects known to pollinate the species was driven to extinction which rendered the plant unable to produce seeds. Still, there are others who pointed out that pollution was the culprit, and there are others too who say that habitat conversion for agriculture is to blame. Fortunately, the species is easy to grow and flower, and there were even reports of plants setting seed. If true, then there might be 'proxy' pollinators performing the job in lieu of the natural ones, which is good for the plants (and horticulture). In the succeeding years the habitat was secured and plants were propagated in numbers large enough to warrant its exclusion from the list.

Flowering period has been noted from August to September, but plants in cultivation can flower at any month of the year, except during the driest ones.

Frerea indica is unusual in being the only stapeliad that grows true leaves. Other stapeliads also produce leaves, but these are mostly rudimentary and go unnoticed by those not familiar enough with botany. The leaves of Frerea are glabrous (smooth and without 'hairs') and become suffused with bronze under strong sunlight. These are shed during the dry season. Unfortunately, the leaves are often attractive to caterpillars, as exemplified by this specimen below:

There are a number of specimens in cultivation exhibiting great variations in flower shape and coloration. Some have drawn-out corollas, and some have corollas that reflex badly. Others have lots of yellow markings. I like the one I have, because its flowers appear fuller due to its broad corollas- and because these do not reflex, they always look flat! I find the color combination more tasteful too; lots of yellow markings make these flowers appear... tired. But that is just my opinion. And oh, like many other stapeliads, the flowers also emit a fetid odor, but this is only noticeable at very close range. 

My plant have had bouts with rot, until I moved it to a heavily inorganic mix and the problem corrected itself. Compared to many other succulents, the stems quickly go limp when water stressed. Late last year, I have begun propagating my plant through stem cuttings, and some have already reached the homes of a few local stapeliad growers.

Frerea indica is firmly entrenched in cultivation worldwide, and is a fine example of a plant saved from oblivion by horticulture. Imagine the loss if it never entered cultivation at all!

Note: Despite being widely circulated under this name, the currently accepted is Boucerosia frerei.

*A monotypic entity is one that contains only a single species in its genus. 

Additional reading:

Mamgain, S.K., Goel, A.K., & Sharma, S.C. 1996. Frerea indica Dalz. an Endangered Palaeoendemic Moving Towards Extinction: an Attempt at ex situ Conservation. Botanic Gardens Conservation International. Vol. 2, Number 7

Naseem, I. 2010. 10 years on, Shindel Makudi is no longer an endangered plant: study. Indiaexpress.com