Stapelia Dummeri Care

Orbea dummeri is an unusual and curiously attractive member of the greater Milkweed Family (Asclepiadoideae) with clustering mounds of succulent stems. Plants typically grow to about 4 inches in height, and will eventually spread to form low mats to a foot or more wide. Stems are branching, with long, pointed tubercles in two ranks. Typically, the stems have a pale grey/green coloration and are heavily marked with reddish purple dots, splotches and lines; but in very bright sunlight, the base color becomes more pale, to almost white with just a hint of green. These are typically summer bloomers, producing smallish starfish-shaped flowers high on the stems. On my plants, the flowers open to just under an inch across, but there is some variation in the size of flowers from plant to plant, and some plants may produce flowers to 2 inches across. Color varies from olive green, to nearly chartreuse, but in some online images, the flowers appear to be nearly yellow. The petals bear many papillae, each one topped with a stout, translucent/white hair. The corolla is nearly white, and includes the pollinia, and stigma.