Hoodia pilifera subsp. annulata follicles

The clump of erect stems of Hoodia pilifera subsp. annulata stands erectly in its arid habitat. The colouring is pale grey, the tubercles small, and the hairy spines topping them remain on the stems when they dry out.

The follicles or seedpods of several hoodias (and some other succulents, like certain stapelias), resemble the horns of some small local antelopes that gave rise to the Afrikaans name bokhorings. The paired follicles angling up and outwards from each other on this plant are pale grey and smooth, the cylindrical shapes tapering to narrow conical points.

Large tracts of land in South Africa (and even elsewhere, also in the USA) have been planted with Hoodia, especially H. gordonii, in anticipation of the appetite suppressant marketing opportunity that now seems uncertain (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000).