Angola: Northern Namibe – Stapelia

Here’s another bizarre-looking succulent – several species of Stapelia. The entire coastal strip of Namib Desert is famous for its diversity of succulent – one step and you are looking at a strange species with surreal-looking flowers, poking out of incomparable rocks. Stapelia is a genus of around 40 species, all endemic to Namib coast and further down to South Africa (they are quite common as indoor house plants Europe and America). These plants are often referred to as “carrion flowers” or “starfish flowers” due to their unique and rotten-flesh-smelling blooms. They lack true leaves and instead have four-ribbed stems. The flowers are star-shaped. Here, there are two different similar species we found – one with red and another with yellow flowers.