African starfish flower
The flowers' special scent attracts blowflies to pollinate them.
African starfish flower is the common name for a genus of so-called 'carrion flowers’ whose color, hair, and smell are reminiscent of rotten meat. They attract bluebottle flies who lay their eggs in rotten flesh. They cannot lay their eggs in the flower but are tricked into visiting it by the smell. In this way, the flower is pollinated.
The African starfish flower is a stem succulent i.e. a plant where the swollen, green stem has taken over the leaf's function of conducting photosynthesis.
The stem also contains tissue wherein the plant can store water from occasional rainfall. The same type of adaption is found in cacti and many species of spurge, which are also present in the desert house.
Fact box:
- Greenhouse location: The Dessert House
- Danish name: Ordensstjerne
- Latin name: Stapelia
- Family: Asparagus family / Asparagaceae
- Natural habitat: South Africa