Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged carrion plant, garden, green bottle flies, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Stapelia gigantia, succulents on July 4, 2016| 4 Comments »
Five or six months ago, I took multiple cuttings from my Stapelia gigantia and planted them in six planter boxes on top of my terrace wall. I used them to fill in around agave that I’d planted in the middle of each box.
Once the rains came, they began spreading their prehistoric-looking tentacles…
And, the flowers have exploded in their carrion-smelling bloom, attracting green bottle flies, as designed.
I think my stinky stapelia like their new homes!
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Science & Nature, tagged carrion plant, garden, green bottle flies, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Stapelia gigantia, succulents on August 30, 2014| 4 Comments »
This has been a good year for my stinky Stapelia gigantea.
Feather-light blossoms open to reveal zebra-striped, hairy flowers. Apparently, to carrion eating insects, these tiny soft white hairs resemble mold growing on rotting meat — a disgusting thought!
And, to complete the putrid package, the flowers smell like rotten meat.
An odious odor only a green bottle fly could love.
Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged carrion plant, Casita Colibrí, garden, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, Stapelia gigantia, succulents on May 10, 2011| 5 Comments »
Twenty-four hours in the life of one of the more bizarre, and almost prehistoric-looking, residents of the terrace garden, a Stapelia gigantea…
Trying to identify this plant I did a Google search using the terms: cactus, stinky, flies, star flower… because it definitely smells gross, has incredibly large zebra striped star-shaped flowers, and is a favorite of green bottle flies!
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