24 June 2024
I have become more than mildly obsessed with the plant Huernia zebrina. I exchange plant cuttings with a coworker, and he gave me two pieces of his Huernia just over a year ago. Those little cuttings grew and grew and grew over the past year, to the point that I think I'll need to repot or divide the plant soon — roots are just showing in the drainage hole.
Quoth Wikipedia:
Huernia zebrina, the little owl or lifesaver cactus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae, native to Namibia, Botswana, northern South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique... The flower emits a carrion odor to attract flies.
The succulent looks spiky, but is actually smooth and gentle to the touch. It's delicate enough that mine started drooping when I forgot to water it for three weeks during its growth season.
My coworker's Huernia has never bloomed for him — not enough light, probably — but mine has started cranking out flowers; the first opened on June 2nd.
I eagerly watched the first bud develop. When the flowers are finally ready, you can peek inside over the course of several hours...
...and then they're open.
Whatever variety I have doesn't really emit much of a carrion odor to speak of — you have to get your face right into the flower and sniff deeply before you can say, "yeah, I guess that smells". That's slightly disappointing (to me at least), but the flowers are so captivating that I'll forgive them their anemic scent.
The petals are fun to photograph...
...and the flower's ring makes me glad that I have a camera that's good for macro shots.
Word of the Day: Anulus (or annulus), diminutive of anus, "ring". Used in a variety of contexts to describe something with a ring shape.
I am strangely drawn to Huernia's little carrion-scented anus. Its texture feels fleshy, rubbery, plasticy; smooth and cool.
The center of the flower is proving difficult to capture with my skills and tools, but I can still give a little peek inside the anulus.
The flowers gradually shrink, close, wither, and drop, leaving behind tiny star-shaped husks.
That's all, folks!
The above photos are of my plant's first three flowers, in mixed order.
If you see a mealybug in any of my macro shots, no you didn't.