Brachystelma barberae

Brachystelma barberae, commonly in Afrikaans the platvoetaasblom (flat foot carrion flower), has a most unusual appearance. One or more stems emerge from the top of the caudex or tuber that is nearly flat at the top and bottom, thickly disc-like, oval from the side and circular from the top. Caudex diameter is up to 15 cm. It is often partly exposed above ground. Fleshy, spindle-shaped roots anchor the plant from the bottom of the caudex that tends to contort into an irregular shape as it grows and ages.

Above the caudex a few broad green leaves grow on short stems. The oblong leaves of 10 cm in length are opposite, hairy and pale green with entire, wavy margins and short petioles.

One or more dense, circular clusters of up to fifty bizarre looking flowers are maroon to brown inside and whitish green on the outside, also when budding. The lobe tips of each flower are long and wiry, joined well above the corolla base in cage-like fashion. The flowers have a strong putrid odour that attracts insects when they all open within a few days.

Some of the other Brachystelma species have striking flowers as well, but most are smaller and less conspicuous.

The species distribution ranges from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng and Limpopo, as well as other southern African countries including Zimbabwe. 

The habitat is rocky grassland. The habitat population is deemed of least concern early in the twenty first century (Frandsen, 2017; Smith, et al, 2017; iNaturalist; www.plantzafrica.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).