Stapelia flavopurpurea Marloth

Small succulent forming diffuse clump up to 150(-200) mm diam. Stems 20-60(-100) mm long, 6-15 mm thick, decumbent, very shortly pubescent (somewhat sandpapery), deep green suffused with purple; tubercles 1-3 mm long, widely spaced along stem and obtusely conical, joined into 4 obtuse angles with stems square to slightly concave-sided; leaf-rudiments 1.0-1.5 mm long. Inflorescences finely pubescent, 1-several per stem near apex, each with 1-5 flowers developing in gradual succession on short erect peduncle (<5 mm long) with few short deltoid bracts <1 mm long; pedicel 15-30 mm long, 1.5 mm thick, erect, holding flower facing upwards, reddish; sepals 3-4 mm long, 1 mm broad at base, lanceolate, acute, reddish green. Corolla 25-50 mm diam., rotate; outside finely scabrous, pale reddish green to cream at base with 1-3 prominent (not raised) longitudinal veins on each lobe; inside heavily transversely rugose on lobes fading towards ± smooth centre (sometimes rugose only near tips), green, yellow, brown or pale red on lobes changing abruptly just below bases to white where covered (though not densely) with translucent white to dark purple clavate hairs (<0.5 mm long, becoming shorter in tube and vanishing ± halfway down); tube 1.5-2.0 mm long, 5-8 mm broad, enclosing corona closely towards base, cupular, pentagonal, with corolla slightly thickened around mouth; lobes 10-23 mm long, 4-6 mm broad at base, spreading, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, acute, strongly convex above from reflexed eciliate margins. Corona ±9-10 mm tall, ±10 mm broad, raised on slight stipe, glabrous and shiny; outer lobes 2-3 mm long, 1.0-1.5 mm broad, steeply ascending, rectangular, truncate and prominently apiculate, red-purple to white and pink-edged, becoming yellowish towards base, with sides incurved so deeply channelled; inner lobes 6-9 mm long, adpressed to backs of anthers then connivent-erect then recurved, dorsiventrally flattened and broad at base so ± completely hiding anthers and pollinia, then becoming slender terete with slightly swollen apex, with ascending narrowly deltoid and laterally flattened dorsal wing 4-5 mm long, red-purple to white suffused with pink.