Botany Photo of the Day

Good information on this plant. I have one in my kitchen and when it bloomed, I thought my dog had brought something in from outside. After checking all the corners where she hides things, I found it was the blooms.

I have several similar photos - we can tell when the buds open even before seeing the plant by the sound of the bluebottle flies' frenzied buzzing.
An interesting link in the food chain to see the bluebottles in the center of the plant, with the assassin bugs close by picking off the unwary; farther out wait the anoles, snacking on both!

Thanks for posting this picture- I've read about these plants, but never seen such clear picture of one (let alone covered with flies!). More proof that nature doesn't exist for our enjoyment alone. Another fascinating "carrion flower" is Rafflesia arnoldi, which also happens to be the world's largest flower (single flower, not inflorescence). That would make a great BPotD subject, if you could scare up a picture, of course.

Matt

I have a couple but they have yet to flower i can't wait beleive it or not. If anybody has any plants that they would be willing to trade pieces of let me know i always want more plants

My Stapelia gigantea was received while in Corpus Christi TX funny we moved back to OK and then it decides to bloom out nobody around here had seen such a creature....I did however get a very good shot of it 10-12" across I had to have that printed out....some of my friends were like wow is it from outerspace I was beginning to think so also. but thankfully I found your site and it helped me to know what it is ;-) will it bloom every year???

I have one of these grown from a cutting given to me by a former coworker over 10 years ago.

I have it in a large pot by the front door -- but there's no noticeable odor at all -- and at the moment, there are four full blooms, and six more buds.

It thrives on neglect, by the way -- I water it when we've had a dry spell, but it grows and grows and blooms vigorously in both the spring and the fall.

Seems the more I fuss over it, the worse it does, so I just leave it to be its strange fuzzy self.

I also received a cutting of the Stapelia,Probably 10 years ago from an older plant in Daytona,Fl. It has blossomed 2 times for me, and is now showing a full bud and a tiny start of another bud. The first time it bloomed , the odor was intense. but I had been warned of this. The second time, there was no odor at all. At that time I had it on a sun porch, but now it is in my kitchen, because of the freezing temps.I am in Central New York state. I have never seen this plant for sale in this area.

My sister-in-law gave me a daylilly two years ago. The daylilly grew, but was immediately overtaken by a cactus. The cactus must have hich-hiked here with the lilly. It thrived, so I left it alone. This year it bloomed for the first time. It is exotic and beautiful, but the odor is attracting carrion flys and wasps. There are buds and open blooms all over the plant. I emailed pictures to friends and we pieced together the plant ID. Thanks for your site.

I have some cuttings that were given to me last year. It did bloom last year but hasn't since. It has two long growths on it that look kind of like pods or claws. Would you know what they may be?

Sharon, that's a question for the forums - see link right above "Post a comment".

I have one. It was my mothers and I took it with me when she passed away in '77! It's still going and blooms late September and October. JUST when I have to bring its smelly self indoors because of the cold.

I have one of these plants here in Ellsinore, Missouri. It's only 3-4 years old and just bloomed for the first time. The bloom is 14 inches across and smells bad if you're close to it. It's a strange looking flower but also very interesting. One of the members on our semo discussion forum found it on your site and identified it for me.
Great site!

I have several. I received one 16 years ago fron Pheonix and it took 13 years to flower. At the time I received it I didn't know it flowered. After 13 years I noticed pods on it , was puzzled about the pods, when the pods opened I noticed a large fly and a smell like a dead mouse. After sniffing around I noticed it was the flowers. Since then it has flowered quite a bit. I have given cuttings to friens and they love it. I live in WI and put it out side in the summer and as a house plant in the winter.

I've had a Stapelia Gigantia from a clipping that somebody gave me years ago. It took 3 years to bloom, and I, too, didn't know was going to. Now, three years later, it has bloomed again. We watched it happen, over the course of several hours. Amazing. I took many pictures and will post a little multimedia thing on my blog (www.minglefreely.com), hopefully soon. What a neat plant. BTW, I live in Kentucky, and keep it outside during spring/summer/fall, and then inside for winter. It bloomed inside, in a sunny upstairs room.

Where can I purchase a plant.

I just purchased two from Logee's Greenhouse. Google them and you'll find their online store.