This is our first time blooming this Stapelia gigantea, obtained a little more than a year ago as a small cutting. The plant has grown boisterously, increasing 4x in size in that time and sending out at least 8 blooms, each 6 to 8 inches across. The flower smells rank like a dead animal. But honestly I don't mind it too much. Maybe that's because I know it's just a flower. Or maybe because the scent is a mere facsimile, it lacks some of the sheer, repellent, gaseous power of actual rotting flesh.
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The huge flower of Stapelia gigantea uses its carrion scent to coax flies to visit and pollinate.
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| Stapelia gigantea flower before opening |
