Species · genus Stapelia · Apocynaceae

Carrion Flower

Stapelia grandiflora Curtis, 1802

Also known as: Starfish Flower · Starfish Cactus · Giant Toad Plant · Carrion Plant

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Cape Provinces, Free State, Lesotho, Northern Provinces

Reference · S. grandiflora

Cultivars of S. grandiflora

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under S. grandiflora yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Stapelia grandiflora is a succulent subshrub from the dry interior of southern Africa, with soft, four-angled stems that store water and rot easily if kept wet. Grow it in gritty, fast-draining mix and water deeply only when the soil has dried out completely, roughly every two to four weeks, stretching the interval in cooler or darker months. It tolerates strong light and a sunny windowsill once acclimated, but appreciates protection from the harshest midday sun.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

10–27 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Stem cuttings left to callus, then rooted in dry mix

Fertilizing

Dilute low-nitrogen feed once a month in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Large starfish flowers indoors with a bright spot and a dry winter rest

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Apocynaceae frequently contain toxic cardiac glycosides and irritant latex-like compounds This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Carrion Flower yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.