The leafless and rowdy Cynanchum viminale subsp. brunonianum

Cynanchum viminale was first described as Euphorbia viminale by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, until he came to his senses and moved it to the genus Cynanchum in 1771. However, the plant has, for many years, been better known as Sarcostemma viminale, and still is called under that name even up to now. Cynanchum is a very large genus scattered in the tropics, with many sections recognized and more than a thousand species described. The species name is derived from the Latin word 'vimina', which means 'broom'.

This is a very widespread species and occurs in a vast swathe of territory, from much of Africa to the Middle East, and eastwards to India and the islands of the Indian Ocean, Indochina, southern China, Southeast Asia, and southwards to Australia. Preferred habitat varies from tropical forests to arid deserts. Due to its extremely wide distribution, a number of subspecies have been named, but their delimitation from one another is problematic. The ones from east and southeast Asia to Australia are assigned to subspecies brunonianum.

Cynanchum viminale is a succulent leafless plant with rambling stems that coil around supports; under optimum conditions, the stems can grow prodigiously to several meters in length, branching in all directions or even piling atop one another. Like many plants from the family Apocynaceae, where it belongs, the stems bleed a caustic white sap that is poisonous if ingested, although it can also react negatively on exposed skin. Of course, you can manage this plant without incident for as long as you practice common sense; you aren't going to eat the stems, are you? Curiously, there are areas in Africa where this plant is eaten as a vegetable. Maybe some populations or subspecies aren't as toxic as the others.

I am maintaining my plant in a smallish hanging pot with a sandy mixture with some organic matter and fertilized regularly. If I move it to a larger pot, the growth will definitely explode and I might find the plant smothering its neighbors in very little time. It will grow quite satisfactorily with less light, but they notably perform better in full sun, where the stems can take a gray-brown cast with tiny purple blotches.

That's one of my cats in the bottom right portion of the photo, not some soiled rug.

The flowers appear from the nodes. In younger plants and those that do not get enough light, most of the buds drop off, which results in just one or two flowers opening per active node. Older plants, especially those under full sun, are more apt to produce more flowers per cluster. The flowers are small but sweetly fragrant up close. Individual blooms last up to three days.

This photo below gives you an idea of my plant's size (and how messy it looks). Try making it out from the bamboozled background.

And here's the plant watching the sun setting down from the horizon and pondering about the mysteries of life. And when I am going to move it to a bigger pot.