Stapelia gigantea
Stapelia gigantea is a crazy succulent with amazing flowers that look like huge fuzzy starfish up to 12 inches across!
Stapelia gigantea is a crazy succulent known as carrion flower, star fish flower, or Zulu giant that has vertical to ascending, four-sided, columnar, succulent stems and amazing flowers that look like an expanding balloon when in bud that then open to huge starfish-like, fuzzy flowers in muted yellow-beige with deep red markings up to 12 inches or more across! It is also fragrant but with the kind of aroma that attracts pollinating flies, if you catch our drift. Best to keep above 10 degrees Celsius in winter as a houseplant.
Common Name: Carrion Flower
Family: Apocynaceae (The Dogbane Family)
Zone Hardiness: 9-11
Light: Full Sun, Part Sun
Height: 4-8"
Width: 8-12"
Primary Bloom Colour: Yellow
Secondary Bloom Colour: Red
Bloom Time: Summer
Foliage Colour: Green
Class: Evergreen
Type: Tender
Soil Moisture: Dry, Drought Tolerant
Stem Colour:
Fragrance: Yes
Berries:
Benefits:
Deer Resistant: Unknown
BC Native: No
Native Habitat: Desert regions of South Africa and Tanzania.
Award: AGM
Geographical Origin: Tropical Africa, Southern Africa and Madagascar
