The miniature Stapelia variegata (aka carrion or starfish flower) growing in my backyard is throwing off flowers. It’s a relatively common succulent plant and flowers freely and so it’s not a rare phenomenon to see it bloom, but it’s exotic looking, and smelly. These flowers are much smaller than those of the plate-sized Stapelia gigantea and are only about two inches in diameter. But they seem to have a stronger scent than the gigantea, both of which reek of rotting flesh and attract flies.