Site for more stink….heehee
I'VE HAD THIS CACTUS TYPE SUCCULENT FOR YEARS.
it bloomed in the last few days, it had two flowers this year.
the flowers that attract flies.
Stapelia — Star Flower
Stapelia are small, low growing, spineless, cactus-like succulent carrion flower plants. The flowers are usually flesh-colored, hairy to varying degrees and emit the odor of rotten flesh. Blooms in some species can grow very large, notably Stapelia gigantea which can reach 16 inches (41 centimeters) in diameter.This is the first blossom.
second blossom, pot plant
more information.
Stapelia — Star Flower
Stapelia are small, low growing, spineless, cactus-like succulent carrion flower plants. The flowers are usually flesh-colored, hairy to varying degrees and emit the odor of rotten flesh. Blooms in some species can grow very large, notably Stapelia gigantea which can reach 16 inches (41 centimeters) in diameter.
The petals are covered with soft white hairs, resembling a layer of mold growing on rotting matter.
The putrid scent attracts attract various pollinators including blow flies of the dipteran family Calliphoridae. Flies and maggots are attracted to the central orifice where the male and female floral sex organs are located. The insects frequently lay eggs around the coronae of Stapelia flowers, convinced by the plants’ deception.
Stapelia are commonly known by various other names including Starfish Flower, Star Cactus, Giant Toad Flower, Zulu Giant and in Australia it’s called the Dead Horse Plant.
A handful of species are commonly cultivated as pot plants and used as rockery plants in countries where the climate permits. Most species are native to South Africa.
Carrion or Stinking Flowers
Unlike their sweet-smelling counterparts, the somewhat perverse carrion flowers and stinking flowers entice flesh and fecal-loving insects to their foul-smelling blooms in the guise of meat by their colors and fetid scents that typically smell and look like rotten flesh. Species and plant families vary, which include some of the largest and most bizarre flowers on earth.
Some species may trap the unwitting insects temporarily with movable parts in the flower that catapult or maneuver them to ensure the gathering and transfer of pollen.
Carrion flowers are masters in the art of deception as they lure these insects into their blossoms. The flowers become pollinated but the fate of the insects is far more dismal — maggots hatching from eggs laid by them will perish from lack of any suitable food. Unlike typical insect-pollinated flowers, most carrion flowers don’t waste precious energy on rewarding their pollinators with copious nectar.
The sources of the flowers’ unique scent is not fully identified, partly due to the extremely low concentration of the compounds (5 to 10 parts per billion), but simple amines present in decaying flesh called putrescine and cadaverine are known to be present. Dimethyl sulfides, including disulfide and trisulfide have been detected in Amorphophallus.
and that's the smell of it.
2 comments:
for a stinky flower, it's really quite pretty. It looks hardy too, like something I could maybe keep alive. You did good on your little plants! Nice fly trapper, too!
I'm glad to see it's OUTside!!
It looks like a starfish. What an odd plant.
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