Ceropegia is a genus of around 200 species found in Africa, India and Asia in the Asclepiadaceae subfamily of Apocynaceae. The name Ceropegia was coined by Linnaeus who thought the flowers looked like 'fountains of wax'. A feature of this genus is flowers that contain hairs which trap pollinating insects for a short time. Mostly species are succulent climbing plants. A popular house plant is Ceropegia woodii known as 'String of Hearts'.
See Sage Reynolds' web site for a comprehensive survey.
Ceropegia ampliata is native to South Africa, common names include Taper Vine, Bushman's Pipe or Boesmanpypblom; 'ampliata' is a reference to its extra large (amplified) flowers. Photograph by Andrew Wilson.
