For an overview of the species go to Huernia a-k
As the name suggests the type locality for this species the Arusha District of the country now known as Tanzania. It was first described by Bruce and Bally as Duvalia tanganyikensis, with Larry Leach transferring it to HuerniaA IN 1969.
This rare clump forming species from the Western Cape, I find difficult to flower in cultivation. it is related to the equally rare Huernia humilis. It is named after its collector a Mr. I.Thudichum, who was at the time curator of the Karoo Botanic Garden at Worcester.
From the Eastern Cape Province, H. thuretii var primulina differs from H. thuretii var thuretii in having slightly larger uniformly pale yellow flowers and longer more creeping stems. The plant shown here is from Grahamstown.
H. thuretii var thuretii is also found in the Eastern Cape Province as well as in Namibia where it was originally known as Huernia striata after the distinctive banding on the flowers. Darryl Plowes believes that there is sufficient evidence to warrant the resurrection of H. striata as a separate species.
As can be seen from the various plants pictured here this an attractive and variable species in its own right. The variation is further increased if one follows Peter Bruyns latest revision where he includes here both Huernia bayeri and Huernia brevirostris in all of its varieties. I believe that I am not alone in being unconvinced as to the validity of this particular revision, and accordingly will not be changing my labels.
Huernia - unidentified species
As yet I have been unable to positively identify the species shown here .
sp.Anaguyan and sp.Coll7707, Coll7785 and Coll7828 were collected by Sheila Collenette in Saudi Arabia. 7707 has the locality details "SW of Taif at Jabal Quarad, Ash Shafa at 500ft"; 7785 "Wadi Sakharah, twix Taif and Al Bahah; among granite boulders, shrubs and junipers. 5,800ft" and 7828 "Jabal Shada, NE of Al Qunfudhah"
sp.Rio Hacha was sown from seed collected in Columbia, from a plant which is obviously a greenhouse escapee, as there are no endemic Huernia outside of the African Continent.
sp.Ranistra could be a form of Huernia macrocarpa but there are other Huernia species with plain deep red flowers.
sp.[Asc357]looks like Huernia insigniflora, but both the stem and flower size are much larger than the description for that species so possibly it is a hybrid with one parent being H.insigniflora.
sp.[Asc845] and sp. [Asc846] were both bought as Huernia thuretii var primulina, which name does not seem to fit either plant. [Asc846] could possibly be a form of of the variable Huernia brevirostris.
sp.[Asc096] was grown from seed sold as Huernia barbata so may well be a hybrid of that species.
sp.[IAS1206] the two plants came from this item which was donated as Ceropegia haygarthii seed. It clearly is not a Ceropegia and has in fact produced two as yet unidentified Huernia species
sp. [Asc222]was grown from seed as Huernia verekeri, which clearly it is not but it may be a hybrid of same as this species does readily hybridise in nature
sp. [Asc014] was obtained as Huernia campanulata which it is not. In all probability it is a greenhouse hybrid with H. campanulata as one of the parent species
Whilst Huernia verekeri var verekeri has a wide distribution in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia and southern Malawi, var pauciflora is found only in Mozambique, its stems are prostrate and much longer and as the name suggests the flowers are solitary and less prolific.
From Mozambique, H. volkartii var repens differs from H. volkartii var volkartii, which can also be found in Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, in having longer creeping stems
This attractive miniature species is found only in the Northern Province of South Africa
H. zebrina has a wide distribution being found in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and the Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Provinces of South Africa. ssp magniflora differs from ssp zebrina in having stronger, more robust stems and, as the name suggests larger flowers being anything up to 8.5cm in diameter. The flowers are also more variable both in colour and markings.
Huerniopsis N.E.Brown
The name derives from the genus Huernia and the Greek '-opsis', like. The genus is considered a sister group to Piaranthus, and some believe that the two species in the genus would be better placed in Piaranthus.
Huerniopsis atrosanguinea
Found in south eastern Botswana and the Northern and North Western provinces of South Africa, the species has sprawling stems and larger flowers than H. decipiens, unfortunately mine has yet to flower and is not shown here.
From the Northern South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, Clone 2 pictured here is a Peter Bruyns collection PVB5127 from Vlakpan, Namibia, whilst Clone 3 is from 80km NW of Mafeking, North West Province.