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I got this plant from my grandmother and it was in pretty bad shape. I repotted it in potting soil mixed with sand and it took off. The plant tripled in size in two years and just a month ago, it started developing a very large flower bud. The bud and plant are soft and velvety but when the bud popped open it revealed a very hairy, scary, stinky flower. My mom told me that the plant was from my great-grandmother and that it blooms very seldomly. It was stinking up my apartment so I had to take the flower off. Can you help me identify it?





By the way, the fly came within 10 minutes of putting the flower outside and it was suffering when I looked closely...

Hi. The plant in the pictures belong to the genus is Stapelia and may be Stapelia grandiflora.

The stapelias are known as carrion plants and belong to the Asclepiadacea family and are from the south of africa. The odor is explained to atract flies as pollinators.

Yep. Note also that although Stapelia are succulents and even though they certainly look like it, they are not actually cacti.

The plant may well be Stapelia grandiflora, but is more likely to be a hybrid, as in my experience grandiflora has a more orange tinge to the flower. The common name for a lot of Stapelias is "The Carrion Plant" and many of their flowers smell of rotten meat which attracts insects to lay their eggs deep within the flower and this is how the flower is pollinated. If you had not removed the flower it may have set seed. The seed pod appears like two horns

This plant has to be one of my all time favorites. How a bloom so absolutely beautiful can come from such a not discript plant! I also have one in Maroon/Red!

It's Stapelia gigantea. Not grandiflora.
Ex.: http://www.clivia.co.za/stapeliagig.jpg

Hi gscott.

I think LadyStar is right - it's Stapelia gigantea. S. grandiflora has usually purple-brown flowers. KactusKathi's plant may be S. gigantea.

Sorry... I wanted to say that KactusKathi's plant may be Stapelia grandiflora.

They are so beautifull, yours look grand, if you have one to trade or SASE let me know, I'm in California I'm also a member of another Garden Site here, an avid Cactus & Succulent collector, Cannot get enough, lol