30 Best Stapelia Varieties | Types of Stapelia

Want to liven the corners of your home with some flowering succulents? Pick your favorite from the Best Stapelia Varieties listed below!

Stapelias are low-growing, spineless succulents that offer large flowers with a unique furry texture—some can give your felines tough competition! Most species bloom star-shaped flowers that can spread upto 16 inches wide. Group these Stapelia Varieties with fragrant flowers to deal with the mild unpleasant odor they exude!

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Best Stapelia Varieties

1. Stapelia villetiae

Stapelia villetiae is known for growing in clumps of stems about 15 cm tall with beautiful star-shaped flowers. The black fleshy petals with yellow stripes are worth adding to your collection of indoor plants!

2. Stapelia unicornis

It is a loosely-packed clump-forming stem succulent with 1–5 flowers arising near the base of the stems. This plant grows best on rocky slopes and resembles a cactus, making it one of the Best Stapelia Varieties!

3. Stapelia surrecta

The spineless succulents are known for having leaves with slightly concave sides and teeth on the corners. The velvety flowers appear in a burgundy hue and exhibit crinkled flesh.

4. Stapelia similis

Stapelia similis is a succulent with small dark purple star-shaped flowers. The spineless succulent comes in clumps or long upright stems and exhibits a grayish-green color, making it one of the best Stapelia Varieties you can grow!

5. Stapelia schinzii var. bergeriana

Stapelia schinzii var. bergeriana is a clump-forming perennial succulent that can spread up to 1 meter wide with stems arising from the horizontal base. It features a shiny corolla with lobes that are dull dull-burgundy in color with a creamy white center.

6. Stapelia schinzii var. angolensis

Stapelia schinzii var. angolensis is one of the most exotic Stapelia Varieties that bloom dark maroon to violet flowers with hairy edges that spread upto 3 inches in diameter.

7. Stapelia schinzii

One of the best Stapelia Varieties, this succulent blooms dark red to maroon flowers that look like stars blooming in a pot. Plant in a well-draining substrate for the best growth.

8. Stapelia rufa

Stapelia rufa is another cactus-like plant that grows up to 10-20 cm tall. The star-shaped flowers come in dark purple, red, and yellow hues.

9. Stapelia paniculata subsp. scitula

This Stapelia cultivar has slender, light green stems, best for indoors as the flowers do not have the strong, fetid odor of typical Stapelias.

10. Stapelia olivacea 

Stapelia olivacea is another African tufted species growing up to 10 cm tall. It has few-flowered basal inflorescences with small fetid flowers that grow up to 4 cm in diameter.

11. Stapelia obducta

Stapelia mutabilis is another stunner with different textures and hues that vary in the lobes of the outer corolla and flowers that look like stars and bloom for 4–7 days.

13. Stapelia leendertziae

Stapelia leendertziae is a creeping plant that trails and hangs down the pots. The spineless succulents look like green carpets that spread up to 1 meter in diameter.

14. Stapelia hirsuta

Also known as African starfish flowers, Stapelia hirsuta is notorious for its foul-smelling flowers. It grows 5-15 cm wide and blooms a large star-like flower.

15. Stapelia hirsuta var. gariepensis

Another stunning Stapelia variety is native to Namibia and can be grown indoors. It comes with hairy flowers that bloom best under shade.

16. Stapelia hirsuta var. tsomoensis

Stapelia hirsuta var. tsomoensis is another plant in the category of Stapelia hirsuta variety. This succulent subshrub grows primarily prefers a well-draining dry growing medium.

17. Stapelia hirsuta var. vetula

Native to South Africa, particularly Cape province, it also closely resembles Stapelia hirsuta. The Stapelia cultivar grows in subtropical areas and blooms exotic flowers with fleshy, burgundy flowers.

18. Stapelia grandiflora

Stapelia grandiflora is a tufted cactus-like plant that comes with large star-fish shaped flowers with fuzzy edges. One of the most exotic Stapelia Varieties on the list!

19. Stapelia grandiflora var. conformis

Stapelia grandiflora var. conformis is a closely related variety of Stapelia grandiflora that, too, holds star-shaped flowers in dark burgundy hues and a deep hollowed center.

20. Stapelia glanduliflora

Stapelia glanduliflora is known for its not-so-typical Stapelia flowers that are covered with white glandular hairs giving them a distinct look.

21. Stapelia gigantea

Stapelia gigantea is a stem succulent with branches that are velvety, spineless, growing about 10 to 30 cm tall. It often forms clumps that spread up to 1 m under favorable conditions.

22. Stapelia gettleffii

Another amazing stem succulent resembles a cactus and is popular for velvety branches growing up to 25 cm tall. The star-shaped flowers have long pedicels with an upward curve spreading up to 15 cm.

23. Stapelia gariepensis

Native to Namaqualand, South Africa, Stapelia gariepensis is a unique species with beautiful flowers spreading 10 cm in diameter. These flowers come in red-brown hues with hairy edges borne on long stems.

24. Stapelia flavopurpurea

Stapelia flavopurpurea is a tufted cactus-like plant prized for small-sized flowers that emit a sweet smell, contrary to its cousins. The flowers look amazing in the colors yellow, green, orange, purple, and white, with maroon overtones.

25. Stapelia engleriana

Stapelia engleriana has thick, divaricately branched stems up to 30 cm long. In contrast to most other species, its flowers appear from mid-stem upwards and are dark purple-brown or chocolate-colored.

26. Stapelia divaricata

Stapelia divaricata grows 6-12 cm tall with green, gray, and reddish angular stems. It is known for forming tillers from the base with a velvety surface.

27. Stapelia clavicorona

Stapelia clavicorona is a stunning Stapelia that features unique, star-shaped flowers in a wrinkled texture. The burgundy flowers are relatively small, about 50-60 mm in diameter. 

28. Stapelia cedrimontana

Stapelia cedrimontana is a striking species known for its unique, large, star-shaped, deep reddish flowers. These flowers are about 40 mm in diameter with slightly reflexed lobes, variegated in dark burgundy and pale yellow hues.

29. Stapelia acuminata

This plant features upright stems that are square, puberulous, and purplish-brown tinted with rudimentary leaves. Flowers come with pointed petals that exhibit a wrinkled texture in maroon-cream hues.

30. Stapelia arenosa

Stapelia arenosa usually comes with relatively stout stems that are irregularly knobbly, and the tubercles are partly arranged into rows along them. It is undoubtedly one of the Best Stapelia Varieties you can grow!