Stapelia gigantea buds

The unopened buds of Stapelia gigantea show a characteristic of the species in the pronounced, elongated flower segment tips. Before these segments are spread open widely, the thin tails form something like a pointed beak or little bulbous tower from Russian architecture. The purplish colour seen in the open flower is accentuated on the outer, lower surfaces of the corolla lobes when still closed. Long, lanceolate and hairy sepals are to be found at the outside base of the flower.

The flower of S. gigantea is the largest of all in the genus of Stapelia. In fact, they count among the larger flowers in the floral kingdom overall. These flowers may be as big as 40 cm in diameter. Flowers appear solitary or in pairs from near the base of a stem (White and Sloane, 1937).