Cadaba aphylla

Cadaba aphylla is one of some 30 species in the genus Cadaba. It grows as a straggly, perennial shrub or small tree, virgate, much-branched, dark green, often with purple bloom, and usually leafless, and may reach 2 m in height. Its branches are somewhat succulent and frequently spine-tipped. Leaves of some 10 x 2 mm are found on seedlings and young branchlets. Its deep red flowers (rarely yellow) in axillary clusters have prominently exserted stamens, making this a colourful plant in summer. Fruits are some 90 mm in length, green at first, turning a rusty brown when mature, and covered in sticky hairs. A sticky orange pulp covers the small black seeds. This species may occur in dry bushveld or semidesert conditions from tropical Africa to Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa.

"Leafless, twiggy shrub to 2 m. tall; branches rather virgate, stiff, smooth, green or glaucous with subspinous apices, glabrous, young branches with subulate leaf scales up to 2 mm. long. Flowers in short, corymbose, axillary racemes; rhachis 0.3–2.3 cm. long, glabrous or glandular-pubescent; bracts subulate, c. 1 mm. long; pedicels glabrous or glandular-pubescent, up to 1.3 cm. long. Sepals 4, yellow or reddish-purple, 1–1.7 x 0.7–1 cm., the lowest rather larger than the remainder, connate at the base into a very shallow receptacle c. 1 mm. in depth, broadly elliptic, obtuse at the apex, with capitate, glandular hairs densely or sparsely scattered on both sides. Petals 0. Androgynophore 2.5–3 mm. long, glabrous, shallowly declinate with a hooded nectary at its base c. 4 mm. broad. Stamens 8; filaments 1 cm. long; anthers 2.3 x 0.75 mm., oblong. Gynophore c. 1 cm. long, glabrous or glandular-pubescent. Ovary narrowly cylindric, glabrous or glandular-pubescent; ovules numerous, on 2 placentas; stigma capitate, sessile. Fruit up to 8 x 0.4 cm., cylindric, subtorulose, glandular or minutely verrucose, many-seeded. Seeds brown, c. 0.3 cm. in diam., subglobose."