Wildflower series ~ Brachystelma chloranthum

Brachystelma are a member of the milkweed family, as are stapeliads, and they also have stinky flowers that are pollinated by flies. They grow from an underground tuber and some of this genus are very highly sought after by succulent collectors. The collected ones are larger plants with more spectacular flowers and they smell really bad. Brachystelma tend to smell like pig manure, instead of rotten meat like their stapeliad cousins do.

This tiny, insignificant little plant is often referred to as one of the "shoelace plants": one that you would never know is there unless you were bending down to tie your shoelaces. Even then, you wouldn't notice it unless it is flowering. I didn't notice any stink here, the flowers are just too small. A botanist told me that this is the small-flowered form of this species and it is pretty rare. It may be considered rare just because it is so hard to spot. I have looked and looked on the hill but this is the only one of its kind that I could find.