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weirdest cactus on earth

I went to my local green thumb and went looking around to find aroids , cp's , aquatic plants . when I was done looking for those things and decided go to the cactus and succulent section to look for lithops but they did'nt have any thing but when I looked down a rack iwas shock , a cactus or succulent had a huge flower about 6 inches in diameter that looked exactly like a rafflesia arnoldi . I bent down to smell it and it smell like dog piss in the sun , it was so unbarable so I asked some one who work there if I could have some a cutting of the plant and he said yes , so i took a cutting with the flower on it . The cactus looked like the ones that are like vines but it had no needles . I'll show you a picture of it when my best old friend develops it .
 
Sounds like some stapelia species. The description of the flower sounds like S. variagata. the flower of this species is mottled red and brown like a rafflesia but the flower is only about 2-3 inches across.
 
the flower just died today , I'll give a a specific description of the plant and flower . it is some type of cactus witch I believe the spanish word is papitiya and the spines are soft , not hard and sharp . The flower is on a short stem witch makes the flower tilt down and the flower has some fibers on it , it has dark purple , red stripes , smells like dog piss in the sun , the middle has small black things that look like seeds , the shape is a star that has five corners and the flower is whitish yellow .
 
I just figured out what type of stapelia I have , a stapelia giganta and it is the biigest one so i guess i was lucky to get the cutting . i would like everyone to know that if anybody have a cactus or succulent with aroid flowers then please tell me because I would like to make a trade .
 
I have a large collection of stapeliads, of which Stapelia gigantea is a member. Most have bizarre, colorful flowers that smell awful. Their nickname is the carrion flower, because they smell like decaying meat. Stapeliads attract flies for pollination, but my CP love having them around...
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i had gotten some cutting from a lady years ago when i was a kid- it grew into a pretty big bunch of cacti and had acouple smelly flowers but it just died off over time on me and the lady that gave it to me had the plant fo years and her all of a sudden died off to. anyhow could these ever live outdoors in the winter? i have been growing three different prickly pears outside in my yard for acouple years and they do great all year around in ohio.
 
Stapelia come from south Africa, and I seriously doubt they would last long in any temperture extreme other than Hot.

Peace
 
Stapelia are not cacti, but rather succulents. Cacti are only found in the America's. They like warm conditions and will not survive a frost.
 
I have some huernia which are similar. I let them sit for weeks on end in my own mix of backyard soil and sand (I live in a deserty region in southern california) without watering them. This summer they grew like weeds in 100+ degree weather. Now that it's 40-60, they've certainly slowed down and are not making new growths very often. I have been able to grow them in the house with indirect light, but they grow tall and spindly, and won't flower in those conditions.
 
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