Smelly Succulents
John Dengate looked at three unusual succulents. These plants are grown for their novelty value, not for their attractive appearance or sweet smelling flowers. In fact, the members of this trio look peculiar and they each emit a foul odour! While humans might find the smell very disagreeable, the flies and beetles which pollinate the plants find it irresistible. All three are best suited to pot culture in a warm conservatory or glasshouse, using a free-draining mix for succulents.
Dorstenia foetida
This African native grows to about 15cm (6″) tall. It has squat, thick branches, glossy leaves and strange, alien looking flowers. John described the smell of the crushed leaves as “a cross between petrol and smelling salts”. Dorstenias belong to the Moraceae, or fig family.
Huernia loesneriana (Carrion flower)
Native to Africa, this small succulent has angled, greenish stems. The bell-shaped flowers are red-brown on the outside and yellow on the inside with red-brown spots. They smell like rotting meat and are very attractive to the flies which pollinate them.
Stapelia grandiflora (Carrion flower)
Another carrion flower, with club-shaped, hairy stems to 20cm (8″) tall. The hairy, star-shaped flowers are purple-brown marbled with yellow. The odour of these flowers is very offensive!
Further information
Ask your local nursery to order these plants in for you, cost from around $4.50 for a 55mm (2.25″) square pot to $25 for a 200mm (8″) pot or try a specialist cacti and succulent nursery such as:
NSW
Arizona Cacti Nursery
Windsor Road
Box Hill
Phone: (02) 9627 3167
Valley View Nursery
19 Bay Road
Arcadia
Phone: (02) 9655 1550
VIC
Collectors Corner at Garden World
Springvale Road
Keysborough
Phone: (03) 9798 5845
Gill’s Nurseries
1 Centre Road
Brighton East
Phone: (03) 9592 8711
SA
The Conservatory
80 Unley Road
Unley
Phone: (08) 8272 9657
WA
Fraser Giftware and Garden Centre
Cnr Fraser and Comrie Roads
Canningvale
Phone: (08) 9455 1174
TAS
Chandlers Nursery
75 Queen Street
Sandy Bay
Phone: (03) 6223 5688