Huernia is a memeber of the Apocynaceae family. Sixty-four species of Huernia are found in eastern and southern Africa, Ethiopia and Arabia. They are low (10 cm) perennials with angular fleshy stems armed with large teeth. The grey-green stems branch from the base forming large clumps. Attractive flowers, 2-3 cm in diameter with short stalks, are produced freely in the summer and autumn from the base or middle of the stems. The flowers which may be red, yellow or brown and often spotted, have a 5-angled margin or are 5-lobed with a characteristic small lobe in the angle between the main lobes. The flowers produce a smell of carrion, the strength and quality of which varies considerably between different species.

Huernia stapelioides from Southern Africa is naturally growing in the Polokwane district. It has angular, four sided, blue-green stems and has an unusually long flowering period.