Stapelia is a genus of low-growing, spineless,
stem succulent plants, predominantly from
South Africa with a few from other parts of
Africa. Several Asian and Latin American species were formerly included but they have all now been transferred to other genera. The
flowers of certain species, most notably
Stapelia gigantea, can reach 41 cm (16 inches) in diameter when fully open. Most
Stapelia flowers are visibly hairy and generate the odour of rotten flesh; a notable exception is the sweetly scented
Stapelia flavopurpurea. Such odours serve to attract various specialist pollinators including, in the case of carrion-scented blooms,
blow flies of the
dipteran family
Calliphoridae. They frequently lay eggs around the coronae of
Stapelia flowers, convinced by the plants' deception.