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Harpagophytum
Harpagophytum is a genus of perennial, mostly ground-hugging plants from southern Africa, named for its hooked fruits and tuberous roots. Grown as a garden curiosity or harvested for its roots, it needs hot, dry, sandy conditions and very good drainage.
Harpagophytum ( HAR-pə-GOF-it-əm), also called grapple plant, wood spider, and most commonly devil's claw, is a genus of plants in the sesame family, native to southern Africa. Plants of the genus owe their common name "devil's claw" to the peculiar appearance of their hooked fruit. Several species of North American plants in the genus Proboscidea and certain species of Pisonia, however, are also known by this name. Devil's claw's tuberous roots are used in folk medicine to reduce pain.
Caution exists for a variety of conditions, such as pregnancy and cardiovascular disorders. Devil's claw may cause diarrhea and may interfere with the action of ticlopidine and warfarin.
Harpagophytum procumbens is mainly found in the eastern and south eastern parts of Namibia, Southern Botswana, and the Kalahari region of the Northern Cape, South Africa. H. zeyheri is found in the northern parts of Namibia (Ovamboland) and southern Angola.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Harpagophytum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
