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Species library › Hoodia › Hoodia alstonii
Succulents Well documented

Hoodia alstonii

A tall, columnar stem succulent of the far-northwestern Cape and southern Namibia, with grey-green angled stems and small pale flowers. It comes from one of the driest regions in southern Africa and is notoriously prone to rot in cultivation. Full sun, very dry air, a strongly mineral mix and very sparing water are essential.

Hoodia alstonii
Photo: Ragnhild&Neil Crawford from Sweden, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night A clear drop at nightTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Rocky slopes and quartz or gravel flats in the Richtersveld, Namaqualand and Bushmanland, often fully exposed among sparse succulent shrubs.

Few records give an elevation; the sites lie roughly between 400 and 1,500 m.

Cape ProvincesNamibia

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 2.0 licence, unmodified.