Jardinerong Sunog (the Burnt Gardener)

I received this plant as Stapelia grandiflora back in November 2017 and bloomed a year later, when the plant has already developed into a sizable clump. Upon seeing the first flower, I was immediately under the impression that the identification was incorrect, and was reminded instead of S. unicornis , a species similar to the popular S. gigantea , but with smaller flowers and a bowl-like interior. Today, two flowers opened simultaneously, and I am still not sure what this could be. Stapelia unicornis is so-named by virtue of its inner corona lobes that are in contact with one another and giving the impression of a central horn. I could not find this feature in the flowers on my plant, although it does share the erose (appearing as if gnawed) margins. I must suppose then that this plant is possibly a hybrid involving S. unicornis  and probably  S. gigantea . It has the stem proportions and bowl-like flower interior of the former, with the prominent transver...

This plant was received as Stapelia hirsuta late November last year as a single stemmed, unrooted cutting. A little over seven months later and the plant finally decided to throw out a flower- well actually it began forming buds early last month but these blasted, maybe due to the sudden swings of temperature. But... I don't think it is what it's labeled. The corona structure is very different and actually reminds me more of S. gigantea 's that S. hirsuta 's. The coloration appears halfway between the two species, while the silky trichomes (the hairs) are a lot like S. hirsuta 's but somewhat shorter. I'm pretty sure this is a hybrid. In recent years there have been stapeliads masquerading under dubious and/or ambiguous names, probably as a result of cross-pollination in private collections and distributed widely by growers who thought they were dishing out the real thing- the seed parent of this plant should be S. hirsuta , which explains why it's la...

This particular plant has been circulating for quite some years now as ' Stapelia schinzii hybrid', although it isn't clear as to what other species contributes as the parent. It is possible that this particular clone is what has been known as CX880H, which traces its roots as greenhouse collected seeds, by Rod Knowles of Merseyside, NW England. The few photos I have seen from plants with such collection number exhibited flowers that are on the pink side, but plants even from the same seed batch, particularly hybrids, whether presumed or certain, are certain to feature variations, including with regards to coloration. But if I am mistaken on the identification, I would be very glad if someone can correct me, or at least provide additional details. The thing with seeds collected within a diverse collection of related plants flowering at roughly the same time is that there is an increased likelihood that contamination from other species has taken place. This hybrid is s...