Stapelia gigantea (Carrion flower) in bloom

Discussion in 'Cacti and Succulents' started by markinwestmich, Oct 7, 2007.

  1. markinwestmich

    markinwestmich Active Member

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    I just thought I would share. It was indoors until day two of blooming, then the smell was a bit too much and I had to bring it outdoors. Flies immediately found it...literally, as I was walking out the door to set it on the front porch. Within 10 minutes, there was about 20 flies on it. I had made a video of all the activity, but it is in an .AVI format and could not be downloaded. : (

    This plant started out as a single stalk about two years ago. This is the first year when I have been blessed with multiple flowers. Each flower is about 12 inches/30 cm across.
     

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  2. edleigh7

    edleigh7 Well-Known Member

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    I have a similar plant, but my flowers are dark purple, and yes the smell is a bit much...

    Ed
     
  3. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    How large is the AVI file?
     
  4. markinwestmich

    markinwestmich Active Member

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    Daniel,

    The .AVI movie is 8.4MB, 22 seconds long. Done with a Canon digital camera and a Macintosh computer. QuickTime software. It easily converts to most PCs, as I send small videos to other folks with Microsoft Windows-based PCs.

    For those folks with a slow dial-up connection, it may not be worth the wait to see, but for those with a high-speed connection, it will download in less than a minute.

    I don't know how much capacity your server is able to handle, but instructional videos (pruning, bonsai care, root trimming, pollination and propagation techniques, etc.) and things like this video might be a nice addition to the website's capabilities.

    Mark
     
  5. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Try uploading it now...
     
  6. markinwestmich

    markinwestmich Active Member

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    OK, let's try it out.
     

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  7. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Those flies are pretty frisky!
     
  8. edleigh7

    edleigh7 Well-Known Member

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    My computer told me that "the file in which it is stored is offline..."
    So I'll have to wait till you are online I suppose...

    Ed
     
  9. markinwestmich

    markinwestmich Active Member

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    My 12-year-old son noticed that the flies were actually laying their eggs in the center of the flower. Sure enough, there were newly hatched fly larvae wiggling around.

    The diversity of life on this planet is very interesting. What purpose could fly larvae serve in a flower? Is it for the benefit of the flower, the flies, or both? One thing for sure is that things happen in nature for a reason. We may not understand why, but there is always a reason.
     
  10. edleigh7

    edleigh7 Well-Known Member

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    Mark, are yours in full sun, shade or what, mate? I don't think some of mine are getting enough light to flower...

    Ed
     
  11. markinwestmich

    markinwestmich Active Member

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    Full southern exposure sun...however, it's Michigan sun. Not the intensity of Australian sun. The flower buds started to show up at the middle of September. The weather was getting too cold overnight and I had to bring the plant indoors. It is still receiving a southern exposure but indoors...a lot less light, but it certainly didn't stop the flower buds from developing. I used a fair amount of slow-release fertilizer this year...perhaps this may explain the abundance of flowers.
     
  12. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Eh, that's a bizarre thing to happen. It is an attachment, like the thousands of images on the forums. It does have to be downloaded to your desktop or opened with an external application, though.
     
  13. edleigh7

    edleigh7 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, weird hey Daniel....When Mark was on line no dramas......The flies loved those flowers!

    Ed
     

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