Species library › Stapelia › Stapelia similis
Succulents Well documented

Stapelia similis

A carrion-flower succulent recorded along the lower Orange River in southern Namibia and the Northern Cape. It lives in one of the driest parts of southern Africa, so it needs heat, bright light, a gritty mix and very careful watering.

Stapelia similis
Photo: Engeser, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Stapelia of this region grow on stony plains and rocky slopes, usually under or beside small shrubs that give some shade. Habitat detail is generalised from the genus.

Most records lie roughly 150–900 m along the Orange River valley, with a few on the higher Namibian plateau near 1,700 m.

NamibiaSouth Africa

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Stapelia similis? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.