What is Hoodia
Gordonii?
Latin Name: Hoodia gordonii
Other Names: hoodia, xhooba, !khoba, Ghaap, hoodia cactus, South African desert
cactus
Hoodia (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is a cactus-like plant that grows
primarily in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.
The San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert relied on hoodia for
thousands of years to ward off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips.
They were said to have cut off the stem and eat the bitter-tasting plant.
Hoodia gordonii grows in clumps of green upright stems. Although
it is often called a cactus because it resembles one, hoodia is actually a
succulent plant.
It takes about five years before hoodia gordonii's pale purple
flowers appear and the plant can be harvested..
