Hoodia Gordonii is a leafless spiny succulent plant (not a cactus) with fleshy finger-like stems. Rows of thorns are present along the stems, bearing flesh-coloured flowers. Hoodia Gordonii grows naturally in the harsh desert conditions of the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa. For many generations, the nomadic SAN tribe's people of the region have used the Hoodia Gordonii plant to suppress appetite and thirst during long hunting trips which could last for several days.