I was so very excited to see one of my succulents flower for the first time the other day!!!
It's called Stapelia leendertziae - Black Bells or Carrion Flower and it has a very cool flower indeed, they are sapromyiophilous flowers - this means that the flowers are pollinated by flies.
This Stapelia variety has pendulous bell shaped flower, approximately 12cm long, dark purple and very attractive but emits an odour which is said to smell like dead rats (which attracts the flies to do their pollinating duty).
The succulent stems are a mid dull green that can turn reddish at different times of the year and have a velvety feel.
I had to perform my own sniff test and to be honest it really doesn't smell too bad so I think that this is a fantastic addition to my succulent collection!
I love collecting weird and wonderful plants and this one has given me so much pleasure this week and I just had to share it with you!
