They are coloured just like the stems and often not seen until they split to reveal their seeds with numerous white hairs that help them to disperse with the wind. Flowering between December and April and from spring and summer, the plant grows new stems that form patches of dense mats of leafless perennial stems up to 15 cm long in South Australia ( Lenz and Facelli, 2003 ). The plant itself is a simple looking green cluster. These follicles, as they are known, stand erect but diverging in a giant “V”. Physiology and Phenology Orbea variegata is a perennial, clonal, CAM stem succulent ( Lange and Zuber, 1980 ). Stapelia, the Carrion Flower, is a very interesting plant, both to grow as a houseplant, and to see it bloom.

These flowers are easily identified by their large star-shaped build with leaves that measure from 2 inches to 12 inches across. The two parts of the ovary grow rapidly and produce narrow spindle-shaped pods that are about 12cm long. The Carrion flower, or commonly known as the Corpse flower or the stinking flower, is a species of flower that gives off a foul odor that is described as rotten meat, to attract flies and beetles to pollinate them. Successful pollination of the flower leads to the development of the seedpods and once again, these are quite remarkable. The central raised ring is paler in colour with the elaborate structure of the gynostegium (fused stamens and styles) in the middle. At this point in the year, the once-dense clusters are now rather sparse, but at the base of last year's withering. At the time, I recognized the plant by the rounded clusters of dark berries.

The outer petals are thick and rough to the touch, marked with deep purple flecks on a pale yellowish grey background. A few months ago, I noticed some dead vines of Carrion-flower ( Smilax herbacea) along a road I often travel down. But once spotted, they are exquisite in their detail. Despite their size, up to 8cm across, the similarly coloured flowers are no more noticeable than the stems. The plants are easily overlooked as these dull colours are often the same as the surrounding rocks. The colour of these succulent stems varies, depending upon the amount of sunlight and soil type, from a light grey with brown flecks to a purplish brown. The stems rarely grow more than a few centimetres high but form a dense block of short stubby fingers close to the ground. The leaves have been lost completely, just leaving small toothed protrusions along the stem where they should have been.

It is a succulent, with thick swollen stems. With such an odd means of pollinating itself, it is maybe not surprising to find that the plant of Orbea variegata is rather unusual itself.