The flowers are big and hairy and attract flies and beetles rather than butterflies and hummingbirds. Through a combination of color and design the bloom is made to appear like a bloody wound, while wafting from its petals floats the putrid scent of rotting flesh. The blooms are irresistible to dead animal loving insects.

The plant shown here started as a small finger length cutting that I took while on a hike on Oahu. Clumps of Stapelia were growing everywhere along a rocky wind swept ridge, although it’s not native to the island. This is the first flower since I rooted the cutting.

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Corpse Flower