Ceropegia sp. 4, a more succulent Philippine species

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In my previous post, I introduced to you Ceropegia sp. 2, which is beginning to commence its flowering period. And for this edition, I am highlighting the one I call 'Ceropegia sp. 4', a plant which has been in bloom for almost 2 weeks now. In contrast to my other Philippine ceropegias, this one is from limestone, a rock type that is often very dry due to its water permeability. Thus, the stems are thicker and more succulent and the plant more tolerant of dry spells than its forest-dwelling cousins.




Among my 5 Philippine species from this genus, this is the one that is most difficult to propagate. The cuttings take a longer time to root and until these do, there is a very high likelihood of the cuttings rotting. And, rooted cuttings even take time to fully establish, sulking for a number of weeks before finally beginning to elongate. A more meritorious facet of the plant, however, is that it blooms sooner than its congeners. Whereas the other species will only flower when already in excess of two to three meters long, this one flower when still around the one-meter mark. Also, once it has hurdled the establishing stage, the plant proves to be very resilient and easy to care for.

As is usual for many ceropegias, the flower pedicel bends down on the later stages of anthesis. The individual flowers last for up to three days, but are quickly replaced by more buds in varying stages of development.




Cross-section of the flower showing the corona surrounded by the very dark maroon bulbous base of the tube. Compared to Ceropegia sp. 2, I could barely detect a scent from the flowers of this species:


The orbicular-ovate leaf with an acute tip. I find these leaves to be a bit thicker and quite 'rubbery' in texture compared to my other tropical ceropegias:


Like the other Philippine species, Ceropegia sp. 4 is almost unknown in cultivation. Due to issues regarding its propagation, I am currently maintaining very few cuttings of this species- less than ten, if I am not mistaken; I have lost almost an equal number of cuttings due to rot. The plants are maintained in a mixture high in pumice and gravel and mixed with both organic and inorganic soil. Due to its more succulent nature, the plants are allowed to dry in between waterings.

The archipelago may well hold more species than we are currently aware of, and the goal is to find more. The challenge is to locate these plants, as tropical members of this genus appear rare and highly localized.


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