The red dragon flower (Huernia schneiderana Berger) is an asclepiad, a member of the milkweed family. According to R.J. Hodgkiss, there are sixty-seven known species of Huernia scattered across eastern and southern Africa and Arabia. The red dragon flower is native to arid habitats in Malawi and Mozambique. ("Huernia", R.J. Hodgkiss, 2003)

Dragon flowers are succulents classified with the stapeliads, or carrion flowers. These succulents though, produce diminutive flowers compared to Stapelia. (See Plant of the Week, July 15, 2002) The photographed flower measured at only 3.1 centimeters (1.25 inches). Although I did not notice any 'fragrance' with the red dragon flower, it did attract houseflies while I was photographing it.

According to Yves Guinand and Dechassa Lemessa with the United Nations, three varieties (species?) of Huernia are grown by the Konso peoples of the highlands of southwestern Ethiopia. The Konso peoples cultivate their crops (corn, sorghum, cotton, etc.) on irrigated terraces constructed of rock walls on the sides of mountains. An interesting fact that is off the topic: The Konso ethnolinguistic peoples are of Cushitic ancestry, the "Cushites" of the Bible.

In the local language, the Huernia species are called 'baqibaqa'. The plants are eaten cooked and served with a sorghum dish, kurkufa. The plants are considered a wild-food and the Konso reserve the rock walls for the cultivation of these succulents. Growing on the walls of the terraces, the small plants are out of the way of the cultivation of larger plants. ("Wild-food Plants in Southern Ethiopia: Reflections on the role of 'famine-foods' at a time of drought", Y. Guinand and D. Lemessa, UN-EUE, 2000)