Corallocarpus GLOMERULIFLORUS

Corallocarpus GLOMERULIFLORUS - Clustered-flowered corallocarpus, Corallocarpus glomeruliflorus.

Rare caudiciform plant!

Corallocarpus is a genus of tuberous, monoecious herbaceous perennials in the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), consisting of 12 species native mainly to Africa, Asia, and Pakistan.

Most plants form an underground caudex from which herbaceous climbing shoots grow during the growth period. Leaves are simple, petiolate, broadly ovate or reniform, with a cordate base, palmately parted, and the leaf lobes are acute-obtuse.

The flowers are small, dull or greenish-yellow. Male flowers are at the apex, as a rule, on long peduncles. The calyx is a bell-shaped tube with small lobes. The petals are fused at the base. Female flowers are solitary, nearly sessile, often in the axils of the male inflorescence. The fruits are berries, small, ovate or ellipsoidal, red or yellowish-red.

Corallocarpus glomeruliflorus is a rare caudiciform plant. The stem can reach 8 cm (3.1 in) in diameter and 30 cm (11.8 in) or more in height. The flowers are yellow.

It germinates easily without pretreatment. The seeds are sown in moist sandy soil and covered lightly with a small layer on top. They are moistened from a spray bottle, covered with film, and germinated in light at a temperature of 25-28 °C (77-82 °F). The seedlings require aeration. Both waterlogging and complete drying out of the sowings must be avoided.

© Greeniverse. All rights reserved.

An absolutely unpretentious plant, it is wonderfully kept under indoor conditions. Bright lighting is preferable. It is not demanding on soil and will grow normally even in the poorest. It does not require high air humidity or misting. Regular watering is necessary during the spring-summer period of active growth. In winter, watering is stopped simultaneously with lowering the maintenance temperature.

In summer, it can be taken out to the open air and sunny spots. In the winter period, the maintenance temperature is reduced to 12-17 °C (54-63 °F). During the growing season, it is fertilized once a month with a complete cactus fertilizer. Repotting of mature plants is carried out every 2 years.