Stapelia leendertziae
species of plant
Stapelia leendertziae, commonly known as black bells, is a species of succulent plant in the family Apocynaceae that is native to Southern Africa. Other common names include, carrion flower, carrion chalice, rugose cup starfish, maroon cup starfish and star flower.
Description
It forms succulent stems, with matte green to slightly shiny, more or less slender, four-ribbed shoots, the sides of which are strongly concave. The shoots grow from bent-down to upright and form compact growth forms. The leaflets are about 2.5 mm long and perishable. After the leaflets fall off, only white, crescent-shaped pockets remain around the base of the leaf.
Inflorescence
The purple flower bud is spherical or longitudinally oval and tapered at the apical point. It sits on a 2 to 3 cm long stalk. The sepals measure 0.6 to 1.2 cm in length. The dark red to purple corolla measures up to approx.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Stapelia leendertziae” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Stapelia, leendertziae and species, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2332039. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Stapelia leendertziae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.