There are approximately 20 species in the genus of Asclepiadaceae. As it grows it forms multi-stemmed clumps 12 inches wide by 12 inches high and bears unpleasant-smelling, pale purple saucer-shaped flowers (3-4in) in diameter in red or purple brown. The plant grows to a mature height of six-feet and may survive for a century or more.

The Hoodia Gordonii plant originated in the southwestern part of Africa and grows best in the semi-arid areas of South Africa primarily the Kalahari. It has also been cultivated in semi-arid areas of China, Mexico and the US with limited success.

In its native habitat it is extremely difficulty to identify because it looks similar to succulents of the same family of which there are 20. Only an experienced botanist or as the case in South Africa with Hoodia Gordonii a San people can tell the difference, others wait for the plant to bloom in order to make an identification. The San people of the Kalahari have also learned to eat the bitter-tasting plant to suppress their appetite and thirst when on long hunting expeditions. It takes the edge off appetite and thirst, and has enabled the hunters to respect their tradition of bringing home their entire catch, without eating of it on the way.

The History of Hoodia Gordonii

In 1937, a Dutch anthropologist studying the San indigenous people in the Kalahari Desert near what is now the South Africa-Namibia border noted that they sucked on the Hoodia plant as an appetite suppressant and thirst quencher before and during nomadic hunts through the sand swept and sparsely vegetated area of the Kalahari. These hunters did not eat on their two to three day hunts; instead, they munched on the stem of this succulent to suppress their hunger and thirst. The San People have known about the properties of Xhoba for thousands of years.

Besides alleviating hunger and thirst, Hoodia Gordonii also provides a state of alertness but without the jittery feeling produced by the current diet remedies of ephedra combined with caffeine. It is therefore an ideal choice for days' long hunts where prey is tracked over hundreds of miles. South African scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) discovered that Hoodia contains a previously unknown molecule, that may contributeto the plant’s appetite suppression.

The molecule was named P57. Although P57 is the only active molecule to be named in the plant, there are likely others not yet identified that give Hoodia Gordonii its beneficial properties. Hoodia Gordonii has no known side effects, and fools your brain into believing you are full. Experts believe that the Hoodia may hold the miracle solution to the current obesity epidemic. As scientists continue to research the plant to identify its active molecules, it is the entire Hoodia plant that the San people have eaten over thousands of years.