Ferraria crispa

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I occasionally visit a local university's conservatory and finally caught this irid in bloom.  It was stinky!  The flower shape & color makes me think of an octopus.

There was also a medium sized Amorphophallus 'Rivieri' in bloom.  (I say medium sized, it was nearly as tall as I am.)  But that was 100x more pungent than the Ferraria!  I approached it carefully -- but made sure to get a good whiff of it right up close.  (I got close enough to see it was covered in aphids.)

Several years ago at this conservatory I encountered my first Stapelia in bloom.  I had grown Stapelias 20 years ago but never got them to bloom.  I was excited!  It was such a tiny flower I got up close to get a good sniff.  I nearly passed out!  That's not an exaggeration either.  It was overwhelming.  I saw stars.

This conservatory, of course, grows tons of pleasant smelling plants.  But those aren't nearly as fun to talk about.  :-)

Oh, on my way out I brushed passed a giant Agave which impaled my leg with it's leaf-tip spine.  Baaaaad idea putting one of those right along the main exit.