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Tue, Sep 6, 05 at 18:09
| Has anyone ever heard of this plant...a friend gave it to me and it is a succulent with a really strange flower. The flowers smell very bad and attract flies. It is quite the conversation piece but I am wondering if that is really the name of it? The Star Of Bethlehem? The flower is a large star about 4 inches and is lights colored with red veins. Just curious. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Sounds like a Stapelia. As a new gardener I gladly accepted one as a "gift"... and promptly passed it on to another friend when it bloomed. That poor plant is probably still being passed on to innocent souls today! The bloom is strangely beautiful though.josh |
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- Posted by SweetAnnie4u midOK_z6 (My Page) on Fri, Sep 16, 05 at 2:56
| I grow Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) -of the lily family. It is an early summer or late spring flowering bulb. Grows a clump of thin waxy dark green leaves w/ a thin pale green midrib. It then puts on flowers, after which it dies back. Bulbs reproduce very fast. The flowers are 6 petaled white stars with green stripe on the back side of each petal. Really showy. Very pretty. All parts are said to be toxic, but not known to cause death. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Image of Star of Bethlehem
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| From your description, Josh is right. The common name I know is carrion flower. Like SweetAnnie4u, I know the Orinthogalums as Star of Bethlehem. |
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- Posted by justmejackie z8TX (My Page) on Mon, Sep 19, 05 at 19:21
| thanks you all...I know mine is the carrion. An interesting and unusual but stinky plant from south Africa. Thanks for helping me figure it out. |
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- Posted by greenelbows1 z9--so LA (My Page) on Tue, Sep 20, 05 at 1:16
| I read somewhere there are over a thousand plants known as Star of Bethlehem somewhere (common names tend to be regional.) Yours sounds like Stapelia gigantea; mine is about to bloom. There are a number of stapeliads, all weird and fascinating--and I assume stinky! |
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