Hoodia Cactus

• Plant Type: Spiny succulent.
• Common Names: Hoodia Cactus, Bushman’s Hat, Bitter Ghaap.
• Color: Pale straw, dark maroon.
• Flower Dimensions: 2.95 inches in diameter.
• Flowering Seasons/Months: Early spring (August to September).
• Desert with Hoodia Cactus: Kalahari.

Hoodia cactus is a flowering plant of the family Apocynaceae. It has been called one of the 21st century’s wonder plants.

• The stems of the Hoodia cactus are fleshy. The thorns cover the stems.
• During the early stage, the Hoodia only has 1 stem. The plant starts branching at a later stage. There are as many as 50 individual branches in the mature plants.
• The Hoodia cactus is leafless.
• The flowers of the Hoodia cactus are freshly-colored. They are found on top of the stems. The flowers of the Hoodia resemble a petunia.
• Hoodia flowers are large and emit a carrion-like smell.
• The plant’s seeds are like small antelope or goat horns.

• Hoodia gordonii shares many similarities with the cactus, but it does not belong to the cactus family. Instead, the Hoodia cactus belongs to the milkweed family.
• Hoodia gordonii is believed to suppress appetite and promote weight loss. Hoodia gordonii^[1] is widely sold over the internet and in health food and discount stores as a tablet, capsule, and milk chocolate chews.
• In the early 2000s, the Hoodia cactus gained attention because of the anecdotal evidence suggesting that the nomadic hunter-gatherer group from South Korea and Namibia have been eating small pieces of the Hoodia cactus stem to suppress hunger during their long hunts since the 1930s.
• Scientists could isolate pregnane glycosides from the aerial parts of the Hoodia plant.^[2].
• The scientists identified the steroid glycosides from the Hoodia gordonii^[3] extracts. They suggested that steroid glycosides can suppress the appetite in animals and humans by activating the bitter receptor.