Stapelia

Low, succulent, perennial herbs, branching sympodially from base, but not at all rhizomatose (except somewhat in S. engleriana). Stems pubescent or rarely glabrous, 4(5 or 6)-angled, +/- parallel-sided or slightly tapering, neither tessellately marked nor sharply sulcate down sides, tubercle-toothed along angles. Leaves erect (spreading in S. engleriana), rudimentary, fleshy, pubescent, caducous or marcescent, decussately or spirally (5- or 6-angled) arranged at apex of tubercle teeth, with a pair of small, usually persistent, stipular glands at their base. Inflorescence a successively flowering, shortly pedunculate, pubescent cyme, arising mostly from near base, but in some species randomly disposed along stem; flowers mostly foetid. Corolla very variable in size (8-400 mm diameter), mostly deeply lobed, rotate, rarely campanulate, shallowly cup-shaped or funnel-shaped, in one species globose-campanulate, sometimes strongly recurved, usually transversely rugose, mostly to some extent hairy, sometimes densely so, yellowish, brownish, reddish or purplish. Corona 2-seriate, shortly raised on a pentagonal pedestal, 10-lobed, with 5 outer lobes simple or very rarely bifid, and inner closely incumbent on backs of anthers, sometimes shorter than or scarcely exceeding them, but mostly produced above them into a horn-like extension, often with a prominent dorsal wing or secondary horn or variably gibbous near base. Anthers 2-locular, horizontal on top of style head, rectangular. Pollinia obliquely ovate, compressed. Follicles fusiform, erect, sparsely pubescent or puberulous, very rarely glabrescent. x = 11 (aneuploids, polyploidy).