Stapeliopsis saxatilis flower

The flowers of Stapeliopsis saxatilis grow in fascicles of four to seven from the side of a stem near the base or towards the centre. They develop successively on short, hairless pedicels. The small, hairless sepals are lance-shaped to oval with acutely pointed tips that recurve.

The corolla is dark purple-brown, blackish purple or dark maroon. It is bud-shaped, broadly ovoid or nearly globose. This shape is caused by the corolla lobe-tips that curve in to cohere in the centre above the corona, usually attached to each other at the tips. Only the occasional flower spreads its corolla lobes into a cup-shape.

The outside surfaces of the corolla lobes are hairless, while a dense covering of long, pale hairs grow on the inner surfaces, protruding from the slits between the lobes. The corolla becomes up to 2 cm long.

There are outer and inner coronas and a staminal column hidden inside the secretive corolla. The outer corona has small, dark, spreading lobes positioned at the base of the staminal column. The inner corona lobe tips come together in a second, smaller and more angular cage inside the corolla, over the staminal column.

Pollinators have to be adventurous in tackling these flowers: entering through the corolla fissures with speleologist acumen to also reach inside the coronas. Some Stapeliopsis flowers may even trap their fly pollinators for a period, ensuring sufficient anxious scrambling and buzzing in the confined space for ample pollen transfer opportunities.

Flowering happens in summer and autumn (White and Sloane, 1937; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist).