What's That Smell?

With the horrid drought we've had this year combined with my being hugely pregnant and not wanting to work outside in the horrid heat (hottest summer on record WOULD be the summer I'm pregnant...LOL) it pretty much goes without saying that most of my garden has gone kaput. ONE thing, however, has not only survived the abusive heat and lack of water but has thrived. In fact, it is about the only thing that has bloomed in my garden this year.

I didn't know/couldn't recall what the plant was so I took the pix, not only to document the gigantic and beautiful flowers but also to assist in identifying the plant. Actually took me several shots before I was able to get some without a gob of flies in the pix. The excessive fly attraction was explained one we ID'd the plant.

Turns out our blooming beauty has a name, and a smell, that is far from beautiful. Stapelia gigantea is commonly known as Carrion Plant, Carrion Flower, or Dead Horse Cactus. Yup...the beautiful blooms smell like dead animal which attracts all the flies which is how this particular plant is pollinated. Lovely... only plant that I have this year that is growing/blooming happily smells like a dead animal. Yuck.

I guess I can stop trying to find that dead squirrel or possum or whatever I thought it could have been that was stinking up things. Turns out it was my plant. HA.