Orbea variegata is one of the “carrion flowers”, so called because of the stench it emits in order to attract the flies that pollinate it. It is part of a large group known as the stapeliads, long placed in the Asclepiadaceae, or Milkweed Family. Recently, however, all the milkweeds have been re-classified as the subfamily Asclepiadoideae within the Dogbane Family, Apocynaceae. In any case, all the members of this group normally have five-pointed flowers, but the plant pictured is a very rare sport that has put out a 7-pointed bloom. Same foul smell, though! Orbea variegata comes from the southwestern corner of South Africa.
