The
generic name "Orbea" derives from the
Latin word
“Orbis” meaning "circle, disc", referring
to the thickened
corolla part - the annulus -surrounding the flower centre.
( The
genus name implies:"circle").
For example:
Orbea
variegata
Linnaeus set up the genus Stapelia in 1737, he based the genus on
Stapelia hirsuta and Stapelia variegata. The genus Orbea came into
being in 1812 when Howarth tranferred Stapelia variegata into a new
genus called Orbea. Later in 1975 Leach reinstated Howarths genus
Orbea with Orbea variegata as its type species.
