Stapelia gigantea N.E.Br., Asclepiadaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: carrion flower, giant toad plant, starfish flower, Zulu giant

Habit:  succulent

Description:  "Succulent perennial herb branching at the base with purplish, finely pubescent, cylindrical, vertically four-ridged stems to 40 cm high, bearing soft spines on the margins, sap clear unlike most members of the milkweed family Asclepiadaceae.  Leaves absent.  Flowers anytime during the year; flowers solitary or paired, axillary.  Corolla fused petals, stellate, 16-40 cm in diameter, divided about halfway into five triangular, attenuate lobes, purple on the outside, yellow with crimson transverse lines and purple hairs, foul smelling.  Fruit a pair of follicles 10-20 cm long, containing numerous silky-tufted seeds"  (Whistler, 2000; pp. 428-429).

"Stems erect or decumbent, 10-20 cm long, softly pubescent.  Flowers 1-2 in clusters near the base or middle of young branches, pedicels ca. 2.5 cm long; corolla reddish brown to yellow with irregular reddish brown transverse lines, rotate, the lobes ovate, 10-16 cm long, pubescent with long purple hairs; corona purplish brown"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 241).

"A similar species, Stapelia nobilis, may also be sparingly naturalized in Hawai‘i.  It differs from S. gigantea primarily in the campanulate corolla with lobes 7-10.3 cm long and in being more pubescent with similar long purple hairs" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 241).

Habitat/ecology:  Dry areas.

Propagation:  Wind-dispersed seed.

Native range:  Tropical and southern Africa and Mozambique (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 241)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L./Meidell, J. Scott/Bartlett, R. T. (1999) (p. 7) West Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer 304 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wydong, Michael/Hughes, Guy/Wood, K. R. (2007) (pp. 2-3) Voucher cited: Wysong 537 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 241) Sparingly naturalized.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 20) Vouchers cited: MacKee 23039, MacKee 29591

Additional information:  Additional online information about Stapelia gigantea is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Stapelia gigantea may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Oppenheimer, Hank L./Meidell, J. Scott/Bartlett, R. T. 1999. New plant records for Maui and Moloka‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1998. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 59:7-11.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.

Wydong, Michael/Hughes, Guy/Wood, K. R. 2007. New Hawaiian plant records for the island of Moloka‘i. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:1-8.