ID please

[Eric Williams]

Tina gave me a cutting last year with no id but with text “put in pot”. This appeared this year with the tiniest flower I have ever seen. Could any one please give me an id and any info on this plant. Thanks

[Colin Walker]

Because of the source, since Tina had this from me, this is most likely Stapelia engleriana but we'll need to see a fully developed flower for a certain ID. This sp. is unusual with its small, downward-pointing flowers with strongly recurved lobes.

Eric your "tiniest" flower is simply an unopened bud.

It's also somewhat of an "iceberg" like plant because it branches freely underground.

I attach a photo of my plant that was a prize winning entry in the 2012 National Show. (Geez, was that really a decade ago? )
For scale this plant is in a 35 cm diam. pan. I know it's plastic but he ho. The judges were obviously not bothered by that.

Given space this plant can grow quite fast giving stems 30-40 cm long in time.

Anything else you want to know Eric?

[Eric Williams]

Thanks, Colin for your informative reply.Next move I think is to repot it and name it. Is the plants reddish hue due to more sunlight ? Cheers

[Colin Walker]

Thanks, Colin for your informative reply.Next move I think is to repot it and name it. Is the plants reddish hue due to more sunlight ? Cheers

Eric, it seems to have a natural reddish-purplish hue in my experience.

A repot would be good to give it more space since stems tend to hang out of pots. And it certainly deserves a label with the correct ID which I'm now even more certain of. Even your small plant ought to produce a flower or two but as yet it's a bit early in the year I'd say. No buds on my plant as yet.

[Eric Williams]

Thanks Colin. Cheers