Stapelia or Carrion Flowers

The Stapelia gets it's common name, carrion flower, from the smell that the flowers put off, they literally smell like rotting flesh, this is because they use flies and beetles to pollinate their flowers.

Closeup of the stems growing a small flower on the right side.

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They are succulent plants where most species are found in south Africa but there are a few found in Africa, Central America and Asia. They grow in warm, dry climates in full sunlight. They are good to keep as pot plants or as plants for a rock garden with good water drainage. If they get too much water as pot plants, in the garden or in the wild, the stems start to rot. I kept a few but when it rained for a few weeks, the stems rotted and I lost a lot of them.

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The seeds form inside big pods that look like horns and once the seeds are "ripe" the pods burst allowing the seeds to be dispersed by the wind. The seeds look very similar to those of the Thistle and Milkweed.

Picture of the seed pods, seeds and the stems.

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