One of my favorite plants is the stapelia lepida that I think I have shared with you before. But the flower is so intricate it is worth sharing again. Every year it blooms, and every year I take yet another picture of that amazing flower, this one blooming in 2014. This year, however, was the first time my plant made seed pods which burst forth with fluffy little seeds that ride the wind to points unknown.
I was just sure I took a picture of the seed pods so I would have that to show you after the pods opened. I must have spent an hour looking for that picture but never found one. I guess I thought about it but didn’t follow through, which really hacks me off, so all I can do is tell you it looks like a long smooth striped green pod-looking affair about four inches long with a hard covering that is pointed at each end. The pod developed for weeks, and finally one day in June, BOOM! seeds were flitting about everywhere. You can see the seed pod has turned pale tan after it dried out and popped open. I kept thinking I would find that missing picture of the pod, which didn’t materialize, so I figured I’d better go ahead and show you the seeds anyway.
You can also see the fluffy hairs on each seed that allow the wind to distribute the seeds.
Just so you know, this is the plant that produced the seeds. Not a particularly showy plant, but it makes up for any lack of drama the rest of the year when it blooms those interesting flowers.
Other stapeliad varieties also produce beautiful flowers, albeit stinky ones, some stinkier than others- remember this is the plant with the nickname carrion plant- and make these same seed pods, which add to the interest of the plant.
Consider adding one of these succulents to your collection.
Thankyou, interesting and useful!
Hi
Thank goodness I found your article,I thought my precious plant had developed something unusual. I saved a small piece of my plant from the wet and cold of a garden and it is now flourishing 3 years later. It has produced numerous flowers and now 2 large long what I now know are seed pods.
Thanks
Lorraine
Glad to be of help!
I just now know what my plant is. I got it 4 or 5 years ago from a lady I lost track of. I do not know anything about it. It blooms the tiger lily type flower (pattern different from yours). Every month, does not smell badly. Also has a very small flower in another part of plant at same time, no seed pods. Where can I learn more? I love it
I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help here, Tina! Google stapeliad and look at a variety of websites to see if you can find a picture that looks like your plant and then do the reading. You might also google huernia, another plant related to stapeliads, and see what you find. Dave’s Garden is a good link you might try. Good luck!
I have twelve seeds pods after a prolific flowering season. Do I cut the pods off the mother plant?
If you want to gather some of the seeds to propagate, you might cut off the pod after it opens to capture the seeds before they all float away in the breeze! At some point I would cut off the pod after it dries just because it cleans up the appearance of the plant. I am not an expert on what to do here, but I really think you can do it just about way you please. If you had twelve pods, that indeed must have been a prolific season! Good for you. I really enjoy these plants, and I am still learning about them. Thanks for reading, Ellen.
They sure are lovely flowers but they don’t flower often. But now I know what the long pointy things are that developed this time, seed pods. Quite an amazing plant with the flower lasting 2 to 3 weeks.
They may not flower often, but isn’t it fun when they do! Thanks for reading, Ken.