Appearance
Growing up to 20 cm tall, it is a clump-forming succulent with erect green stems 3 cm thick. In summer, it bears large star-shaped five-petalled flowers up to 25 cm in diameter. The flowers are red and yellow, wrinkled, with a silky texture and fringed with hairs, that can be as long as 8 mm. The flowers of this plant bloom in the Fall season, due to the shorter daylight hours.They have the smell of rotting flesh, in order to attract the flies which pollinate them. Because of the foul odor of its flower, "S. gigantea" can act as an appetite suppressant in humans.
There have been several proposed reasons for the size of the flowers of "S. gigantea". First, it is possible that they are large to attract the flies that pollinate it. The largeness and color of the flower combined with the carrion smell may serve to make the flies think that it is a dead carcass and be more likely to visit it. It has also been proposed that these large flowers could work as thermal regulators, much like the large ears of a Fennec fox.
Habitat
"S. gigantea" can become an invasive plant when introduced in arid and semi-arid environments, although it has been found to facilitate the recruitment of nurse-dependent native taxa, those that require a suitable microhabitat created by another plant for successful germination, growth, and/or survival from impacts such as herbivory.References:
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