''Orbea variegata'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the family

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members of ...

, known as the star flower. It is native to the coastal belt of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

, South Africa, growing actively during the winter rainfall season. It is an invasive species in southern Australia.

Description

Growing to tall by broad, it is a leafless succulent

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

with cactus-like toothed stems, and highly variable, star-shaped, off-white or yellow flowers strongly speckled with maroon, up to in diameter. The flowers may show regular (banded) markings, or irregular ones. They have five pointed or blunt lobes surrounding a central, pentagonal annulus (corona). The flowers may have a faint carrion smell to attract potential insect pollinators.

Cultivation

This plant is popular in cultivation, and is often sold under its former name ''Stapelia variegata''. It has many common names, including starfish plant, starfish cactus, carrion cactus, carrion flower, toad cactus, toad plant. It is not closely related to the true

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

family. When grown as an ornamental plant in temperate zones it requires protection, as it does not tolerate freezing temperatures. It is best grown under glass, in similar conditions to cacti. In the UK it has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

’s Award of Garden Merit.

Gallery

File:Orbea variegata1GAETI.jpg, Flower showing regular markings File:Stapelia variegata pm.jpg, Mature colonies File:Orbea variegata, fruto.jpg, Fruit File:Orbea variegata (Csillag virág) (1).jpg, Flower

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q163196 Asclepiadoideae Flora of the Cape Provinces