Stapelia rufa flowers

This old Stapelia rufa plant in the Little Karoo near Oudtshoorn bears numerous erect stems in a clump. Many of the stems flaunt their spring flowers, all positioned near the base.

While many flowering species bear their flowers high up on the stems for pollinator convenience, this Stapelia positions them low down. Stapelia flowers are also unusual in their less than flattering odours that attract flies rather than the sweeter fragrances favoured by bees and butterflies.

The shallowly bell-shaped corollas, about 4 cm in diameter, face sideways on short pedicels. Their minutely hairy, star-shaped lobes are uniformly red brown to brown, only the raised coronas in the centre pale, here cream (Frandsen, 2017; Smith, et al, 2017; iNaturalist; https://www.llifle.com).