Probably the most striking species within the Stapelia genus, especially when in flower.

The large, bell-shaped flowers are deep reddish to dark purple and can grow up to 12 centimeters long. The outside is smooth and shiny while the inside has brown to reddish-brown tones and long hairs.

Its extraordinary flower shape is a striking feature on the dry and barren mountain slopes of southern Africa.

Botanical description

Stapelia leendertziae is endemic to southern Africa and occurs in Eswatini as well as the South African provinces of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

The flowers hang down where space allows and have a strong, unpleasant odor similar to rotting meat. The smell is not overpowering, however, and you have to inhale deeply to feel it. From a few meters away, the scent is barely noticeable at all. This smell and appearance attract flies that pollinate the plant and are so fooled that they lay eggs on the corolla.

The imitation of the flowers is so precise that they even have a coat of soft white hairs that resemble animal fur or mold.

The black bells grows in grasslands on rocky or rocky ground with shallow, sandy soil. The plant is a perennial, clump-forming succulent with stems 75-150 millimeters tall and 9-13 millimeters in diameter.

The species was named after Reino Leendertz (1869-1965), the first official botanist at the Transvaal Museum in 1898 and the first woman to be employed as a civil servant in the then Transvaal. She was the first to collect this species near Heidelberg in 1909.

Care

The Black bells is relatively hardy, drought tolerant and easy to grow. Place in full sun or partial shade in rich, porous, well-drained soil. Water sparingly and when in doubt whether to water or not, don't water.

The plant requires a period of no water in the winter (dormant phase). It can survive long periods without water but water before it shrinks too much as it cannot recover.

If the temperature becomes too low (below 15°C) or too humid, the plant easily develops black spots and other fungal diseases.

Grow in shallow containers with good drainage. Overwatering will cause rot from the base and too little water will cause the plant to shrink and die from the tips. The plant flowers from October to May with a peak in November to January. Buy Black bells cactus online!