Huernia loeseneriana old and new stems

A Huernia loeseneriana flower emerges from low on a stem. The maroon corolla speckling is fairly uniform on the inside, slightly finer in the lobe tips. The inner floral parts are obscured by darkness in the central funnel, the foetid smell speaking louder to fly pollinators than the visual features.

Old and young stems contrast strongly in their stem-ridge tubercles. The young ones are stem-coloured, longer and sharply pointed, although soft. The old ones are white, mostly shortened, stubby from wear and tear. Some still having longer tip protuberances on borrowed time (Germishuizen and Fabian, 1982; iNaturalist).