Stapelia gigntea (Zulu Giant, African Starfish Flower, Carrion Flower, Aasblom (Africkans), Bandaulu (Venda))
Botanical Information
| Family | Apocynaceae |
| Genus | Stapelia |
| Species | gigntea |
| Category | Tropicals |
| Origin | Linnaeus first described the genus Stapelia in 1737 and named it in honour of Johannes van Stapel who was a 17th century botanist and physician. S. gigantea is native to south eastern Africa including Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. |
Details
| USDA Hardiness Ref. | |
| Canada Hardiness Ref. | |
| RHS Hardiness Ref. | |
| Height | 20 cm |
| Spread | 50 cm |
| Growth | Medium |
| Flowering Period | January, February, March, April, May |
Description and Growing Information
| Propagation | Easily grown from cuttings that have been allowed to suberise for at least 7 days before planting. |
| Pests | Stem rot is a common problem on cultivated plants and should be removed immediately upon observation. |
| Flower Description | The flowers when open give off the distinct and unpleasant odour or rotting flesh to attract their pollinators: flies. I once placed one in the reception front office just as the large ballon-like flower bud was to burst open. When it did the staff spent considerable time looking for a rotting corpse of what they thought was a mouse or some similar rodent. They discovered it was the plant I placed on the counter and ordered its immediate removal even though against my protests since I thought it was a novel and interesting plant that the public would welcome seeing. The flowers range in size from 10-40 cm and are a pale green to washed yellow in colour. The epithet gigantea refers to the flower size, the largest amongst the genus. |
Photographs
