A Few Oddities

[cactuspic]

I am posting two shots of unusual plants that I had take during the fall.

Although these jaws look fierce on this Faucaria tigrina, they're not.




With flies as their pollinators, The Stapelia erectifolia can have a rancid oder.



Hope you enjoy/

Irwin[

[Ken Ramos]

These things any kin to the Corpse Flower or Plant. That thing is pretty raunchy smelling too.

[beetleman]

very nice pictures Irwin. I have seen these plants at the nurseries and they are very interesting looking. The flower picture is great...nice DOF and sharp focus.

[cactuspic]

These things any kin to the Corpse Flower or Plant. That thing is pretty raunchy smelling too.

The do smell. Many in the family are known as "Carion flowers."

Irwin

[DaveW]

Irwin,

Strange how the Faucaria almost looks like a Venus Fly Trap though non insectiverous.

Ken

Thats why I don't grow any Other Succulents, and certainly not ones like like Stapelias. You need to hang a pig up in the greenhouse as an air freshener when some of them flower!

They do fool flies into pollinating them and laying their eggs on them because the flowers often have the texture of rotting meat with hairs like mould on them. You can see fly maggots crawling on the flower sometime due to this deception, soon to die because they have nothing to feed on.

See:-

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/stapelia.htm

DaveW

[Moebius]

CNN had a nice article on the world's largest carrion plant and to where it fits into the plant kingdom. No leaves and the flowers can weigh 15 pounds.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/01 ... index.html

Ken Nelson

[cactuspic]

I love it, no leave and 15 lbs of stench. Thanks Ken

Irwin

[DaveW]

Interesting link Ken. There are often different statements as to which is the largest flower. Rafflesia arnoldii is in fact the largest flower. The flower is surprisingly like the Stapelias, though evidently not related. see:-

http://www.lostworldarts.com/asia/rafflesia_2.htm

The imposter is the Titan Lily, not because it is not far larger than Rafflesia, but it is an inflorescence, not a single flower. It is related to the Arum Lily and there are many individual flowers forming the inflorescence clustered around the base of the central column, so therfore it is not an individual flower. I would think this qualifies as the "largest carrion plant" though. See:-

http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/p ... titan.html

DaveW

[Erland R.N.]

The pictures are lovely.

Erland

[cactuspic]

Thank you Erland.

Irwin