This member of the Passifloraceae family was given this name by Klas Robert Elias Fries in 1914. It is found in Zambia, growing in a well drained soil with some water and some too lots of sun. The caudex can grow to twelve centimetres in diameter, the annual stems to 60 centimetres in height.

The name Adenia is derived from aden, meaning gland, and pertains to the glands found on leaves of most of the species. The species name means "bearing a tuber".