It's still hot here and, with humidity running unusually high, it's very unpleasant working outside. I did what I could in the way of hand-watering my garden and spreading mulch before the 15-day outdoor watering ban started yesterday. I stored water in each of my three rain tanks as emergency rations and I expect I'll soon be hauling watering cans around on a daily basis. None of that's interesting enough to hinge a blog post on. However, I'd been watching one small potted succulent on the bench in our front garden for the past week, checking it once or twice a day, and this week it finally produced the flower I'd been waiting to see.
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| The bud got bigger and bigger but it took seemingly forever for it to open |
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| I noticed it had opened on Monday evening. This is Stapelia grandiflora, also known as carrion plant. It's common name is due to the fact that it emits an odor like rotting meat to attract flies as pollinators. Another, nicer common name is starfish flower. |
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| I didn't detect any odor when the flower first opened but I admit I didn't stick my nose into the center of it either |
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| It was attracting enough flies to be annoying late yesterday morning, though. I still couldn't detect much of a scent but the flies kept me from hanging out nearby. |
Flies aren't the most appealing insects but yesterday, while snapping a few photos in my cutting garden, a more attractive creature flitted by.
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| I haven't seen a lot of butterflies this year and although this one jumped from one flower to another, she wasn't very cooperative when I tried to catch photos using my phone. This was my best shot. |
Our heatwave is now expected to extend through Friday. While heatwaves are common here, especially during the summer months, 10-day heatwaves aren't. We won't be sorry to have it come to an end. Current forecasts are showing a 50+ percent chance of light rain on Saturday. A touch of grace on Mother Nature's part would be greatly appreciated.
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
This may be smelly but what a gorgeous and very different bloom that is.
ReplyDeleteit is a fabulous flower, although the arrival of the flies is a bit irritating ;)
DeleteYou are definitely in the news over here. Sorry about all the weird weather this summer. We've been fortunate to have rather "normal" weather this summer, for once. That carrion plant bloom is really special. Thanks for sharing the bud stage and then the flowering stage. Fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteThe Stapelia spends an extended period in bud - it seems that I first noticed it 3 weeks or more before it bloomed. Once it opened, the show was over in 2 days but it is a very dramatic flower.
DeleteAbsolutely love Stapelias. I have one on my porch railing which is growing nicely but no signs of buds. It's in a small pot so might move it up one size. Flies are annoying especially when they won't leave you along but they do make good food for birds.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very positive view on flies, Elaine! My Stapelia has been in the same relatively small pot since I picked it up years ago. To my admittedly vague recollection it was at least 3 years before it bloomed. The buds also develop very slowly ;)
DeleteI LOVE your Stapelia bloom!
ReplyDeleteI used to grow Stapelia indoors: the flowers were fabulous, the stench made me get rid of it. There is quite a variety of them with similar leafs but their flowers, though starfish-like, vary greatly. If I could grow them outside, I'd be an avid collector!
chavli
Ha! Even with my woefully poor sense of smell, I can't imagine growing them inside, Chavli. I guess that'd be a good way to corral flies, though ;)
DeleteHi Kris , funny enough I just did a post saying I haven't seen butterflies this year even with the Black Swallowtail caterpillar we captured. But the redeeming factor was that I have loads of bees and have taken ridiculous amounts of photos of them ! LOL ... I do worry butterflies are truly on the endangered list, I think my husband said that Monarchs are ?
ReplyDeleteYes that flower really looks like a starfish ..but with a sketchy reputation ? haha ... take care ! stay out of the heat !
Cloudless sulphur butterflies usually arrive in noticeable numbers here in September but I've yet to see a single one thus far. Maybe they're also waiting for the arrival of cooler temperatures ;)
DeleteStapelias have cool flowers.. The buds are just as interesting. Flies--not a fan. There seem to be a lot of them this summer. Some years we see none at all. Lovely shot of the butterfly on the zinnia. What a color combo they make!
ReplyDeleteA butterfly never clashes with any flower ;)
DeleteSee the three white dots on the leading edge of the wings, it's a Gulf Fritillary butterfly.
ReplyDeleteYes, thanks Sue! The ID didn't seem right to me and I was only certain it wasn't a monarch. I don't know why I didn't think of the Gulf fritillary as it's one of the most common butterflies here.
DeleteI will never forget how quickly maggots showed up in my first Stapelia grandiflora flower...
ReplyDeleteUgh! I noticed that the flower's petals curled in around its center within 2 days of opening so maybe I was spare the sight of maggots. I removed the flower a couple of days later.
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