Hoodia Gordonii Plant
Before you run out a purchase a bottle of hoodia gordonii pills, it's always helpful to know a little more about this special plant. Let's take a close look and examine hoodia gordonii the plant!
Brief Description
Known to the locals as xhoba, hoodia gordonii is a spiny leafless succulent plant and not really a cactus at all.
For you botanists out there, it belongs to the family of plants Asclepiadaceae or more commonly known as 'milkweed'. It is said that it takes 3 - 5+ years for the plant to fully mature. These bunches of hoodia have up to 40 - 50 individual branches and can weigh as much as 60 - 70 pounds! On the tips of the plant grows a pinkish to maroon flower that has an unusual stinky smell. (This helps in pollination). Flowers typically bloom in August or September.
Hoodia Gordonii in Africa
The Hoodia genus is present in Botswana, Angola, Namibia, as well as South Africa, but the hoodia gordonii species can only be found in Namibia and South Africa. There have been claims and attempts to harvest hoodia gordonii outside of this region but with little success. One noted achievement is "Chinese" hoodia, however, the effectiveness of the plant is still questionable. Because the plant grows in extreme temperatures of the desert, blistering hot during the day, and subzero temperatures at night, it is difficult to harvest "true" hoodia gordonii outside of the Kalahari region. There is a handful of hoodia gordonii scams out there, you can take a look at our article on scams to get a better understanding of what is and isn't true hoodia gordonii.
The Aerial Stem
The part of most interest is the aerial stem or cucumber-like body of the plant. It is this part that contains the sought after ingredient, P57, known to suppress appetite. When cut in half, there will be a flow of juice as well as the edible 'plant flesh'. The plant itself contains not only the ability to control hunger but also antioxidants, sterol glycosides, and fiber. The San Bushmen consider this as an oasis in the desert and have learned about its special properties of warding off hunger and thirst by passing down the information from generation to generation.
Endangered Species
After its discovery, there has been a 'gold rush' like-effect to bring hoodia gordonii and its magical properties to the west as a weight loss supplement. Because of this, hoodia gordonii has been put on the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna and Flora (C.I.T.E.S.). It is strcitly protected by the South African and Namibian governments, and requires a permit to export from Africa as well as a permit to import it into most countries.
