Tropicals > Stapelia > Stapelia gigntea > Stapelia gigntea
Stapelia gigntea
Zulu Giant, African Starfish Flower, Carrion Flower, Aasblom (Africkans), Bandaulu (Venda)
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.
| Family |
| Apocynaceae |
| Genus |
| Stapelia |
| Species |
| gigntea |
| Category |
| Tropicals |
| Height |
| 20 cm |
| Spread |
| 50 cm |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| Growth |
| Medium |
| 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. |
| Propagation |
| Easily grown from cuttings that have been allowed to suberise for at least 7 days before planting. |
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