poppy2323
Green bottle fly on Stapelia gigantea, Carrion flower
The carrion plant, Stapelia gigantea, attracts its main pollinator, the fly, to its flowers by emitting the alluring aroma of a very dead animal. The flowers have a tough, rubbery texture that resemble animal flesh, and are even covered in fine hairs, which look like fur. The flies are completely convinced, and crawl all over the flowers and lay their eggs. Ants usually show up soon afterward to carry away the eggs.
The smell is very convincing -- every time a bloom opens, I start peering under greenhouse tables, looking for a dead chipmunk.
The flowers, despite the smell, are spectacular. They start out as 5" wide, puffed up, dusty pink buds, then open into starfish-like flowers 10 or 12" wide. The insides of the flowers are beautifully marked with peach and red.
Green bottle fly on Stapelia gigantea, Carrion flower
The carrion plant, Stapelia gigantea, attracts its main pollinator, the fly, to its flowers by emitting the alluring aroma of a very dead animal. The flowers have a tough, rubbery texture that resemble animal flesh, and are even covered in fine hairs, which look like fur. The flies are completely convinced, and crawl all over the flowers and lay their eggs. Ants usually show up soon afterward to carry away the eggs.
The smell is very convincing -- every time a bloom opens, I start peering under greenhouse tables, looking for a dead chipmunk.
The flowers, despite the smell, are spectacular. They start out as 5" wide, puffed up, dusty pink buds, then open into starfish-like flowers 10 or 12" wide. The insides of the flowers are beautifully marked with peach and red.