Stapelia gigantea, lure to the flies

This is our first time blooming this Stapelia gigantea, obtained a little more than a year ago as a small cutting. The plant has grown boisterously, increasing 4x in size in that time and sending out at least 8 blooms, each 6 to 8 inches across. The flower smells rank like a dead animal. But honestly I don't mind it too much. Maybe that's because I know it's just a flower. Or maybe because the scent is a mere facsimile, it lacks some of the sheer, repellent, gaseous power of actual rotting flesh.

The huge flower of Stapelia gigantea uses its carrion scent to coax flies to visit and pollinate.

Stapelia gigantea flower before opening