Unusual flower stapelia - a native of South Africa, attracts the attention of flower growers with its exotic look. This is a perennial plant, succulent. Because of its ability to store moisture for a long time, it is considered unpretentious to care. It grows up to 60 cm in height, flowers - up to 30 cm in diameter. Leaves at the stocks are not, and on the stems you can see small not sharp cloves. In addition to its unusual appearance, it has an unusual smell. Stapelia smell of rot, which in addition attracts flies. Therefore, it is better not to keep it in residential premises. In nature, there are about a hundred types of stocks — each is interesting in its own way. In this article we will take a look at some of them.
- Hairy
- Giant
- Glandular flower
- Star-shaped
- Golden purple
- Large-flowered
- Mutable
- Variegated or variable
- Standing light
Hairy
Hairy it is named because of the greatest density of the villi. It grows no more than 20 cm in length. 
Coloring is usually light, with a violet core and purple hairs, however there are varieties with a bright red color.
Giant
It is the largest species.Gardeners giant stapelia, or stapelia gigantea, are attracted by the fact that it grows quite well into the bush, dissolves large buds. 
Flowers in diameter reach a record 35 cm. During flowering it smells of rotting meat. And in the natural environment can form whole colonies larger than 2 meters in diameter.
Glandular flower
The flowers of the glandular flower stocks are small, about 5 cm, greenish-yellow with many pale translucent pin-shaped villi. 
On the petals you can see a scattering of pale pink stripes. It is very small - an average of 15 cm in height.
Star-shaped
This view is most reminiscent of the starfish. The petals of the star-shaped slipway are elongated, triangular in shape, sharply excised, with a large number of white hairs along the edges. 
Usually it is brown or red. The star-shaped stapelia are also not very large - only 15 cm in height.
Golden purple
Petals are green, purple is very rare. Unlike their relatives, the golden-purple stapelia has practically no pubescence. 
The flowers are small, wrinkled, with stripes of yellow or purple.
Large-flowered
Stapelia grandiflora, also known as stapelia grandiflora, is distinguished by large, rarely located petals with dense pubescence. 
The flower is strongly curved, usually flat, has a purple top and a bluish below color. Stapelia grandiflora is considered one of the largest representatives of this species.
Mutable
It has bare shoots up to 15 cm in length, the rim in diameter reaches 7 cm. The petals are yellow-green, with stripes and dots of claret color. Along the edges you can see hairs. 
Variegated or variable
Stapelia variegated was transferred to a separate genus Orbey.The corolla is approximately 8 cm in diameter. 
Outside, the petals are smooth, wrinkled inside. Color yellow with brown spots or stripes.
Standing light
At first glance it may seem that her appearance is homely, but this opinion is deceptive. The corolla is covered with many small white villi and has a bright central star. 
Petals strongly bent. Corolla width more than length. Stems thin and barely reach 15 cm.
But if you really do not want to feel unpleasant aromas, and you really liked the look of the plant, then you can get a neutral-smelling golden-purple or standing light with a slipway.
