Cactus Blooming

[Dozernut]

My wife has a potted Cactus that was given to her by her mother several years ago. My mother-in-law had the Cactus for years before giving it away. The Cactus in all those years has never bloomed. Now, during our severe drought, the darned thing is blooming like crazy. The flowers give off a repulsive odor like decaying meat and it attracts flies which pollinate it. Here is a pictures of the Cactus. We do not have a lot of Cactus in Illinois and are not positive on it's identification. We think it is an Selenicereus grandiflorus or Queen of the Night. Any of you desert dwellers know for sure what this is? Thanks!

 

[higgy]

I am almost certain that you have a Stapelia gigantea, witch is a member of the milk weed family, and is a succulent, not a cactus.

"As with many plants, Stapelia gigantea has a suite of common names. These include carrion flower, giant toad flower, Zulu giant, starfish flower and (in Australia) dead horse plant. Most of these are fairly descriptive it does smell like carrion, it comes from Africa, it's big, it resembles a starfish and it attracts flies like a dead horse. I haven't been able to deduce the reason for toad flower, though (perhaps also because of the flies?).

You have probably guessed that this odd plant is pollinated by the blow-flies it attracts. For commercial or hobbyist stapelia growers, mimicking the pollination function of the flies by hand (and preventing unwanted pollination by flies) is not an easy task, but a necessary one as plants of the same genus (or even across genera) will readily hybridize under greenhouse conditions. "

The quotes are from UBC Botanical site.

http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/stapelia_gigantea

 

[Dozernut]

higgy

Thanks for the tip, I believe you are correct on the plant being a succulent and not a Cactus. Stapelia gigantea appears to be the plant we have, who would have thought it is a member of the Milkweed family. Boy this thing sure does stink, I am glad the wife had it outside when it decided to bloom. It has at least a dozen blooms and when they open one at a time, it does so real suddenly. Thanks again!