No leaves or chlorophyll are visible on Hydnora africana plants.  The plants only become visible when the flowers protrude through the soil after good rains have fallen. Under favourable conditions it takes at least one year for a bud to develop into a mature flower.

The flowers bears no resemblance to normal flowers except for its bright salmon to orange-red colour on the inside, which fulfils the same purpose as normal flowers, namely to advertise the plant. White bait bodies are found on the inner base of the flowers. The bait bodies play a very important role in the life cycle of the plant. They omit a putrid odour to attract various carrion beetles and other insects which become trapped in the flowers. Numerous stiff bristles are found on the inner surface of the perianth lobes which prevent the trapped insect from escaping. After feeding on the bait bodies, the trapped insect drops down the flower tube onto the anthers, collecting pollen all over its body. It then drops even further down onto the soft cushion-shaped stigma and thus pollinates the flower.

Fully grown, ripe fruits of Hydnora africana may measure up to 80 mm across and contain up to 20 000 seeds per fruit. The brown pinhead-sized seeds are embedded in an edible gelatinous pulp with a slightly sweet and starchy taste. These fruits are favoured by mammals such as porcupines, moles, baboons, jackal and also birds. The seeds are not digested and thus are in an ideal state for germination when excreted by animals.

Not much is known about the germination of the seeds except that they are more likely to germinate in close proximity to the host plant. The germinated seed develops a primary root (primary haustorium) which establishes the first attachment point to the host. After the plant has grown and spread, it may develop several secondary haustoria, attaching itself to the same or different host nearby.

The plants have modified their roots in such a way as to ensure invasion of the potential host's tissue. It is thought that the plant excretes powerful enzymes that dissolve away the hard tissue of the host in order to attach itself. The point of attachment is called the haustorium (haustorial roots) and is similar to a graft where two separate members of the union develop together in harmony. Once established, the plant is able to live off the nourishment from the host and quickly develops a matrix of underground stems from which the flower buds develop and eventually emerge above the ground.

Unlike Hydnora africana, the sister species H. johannis parasitises the more superficial roots of Acacia karroo (sweet-thorn). The host-specific preferences of these two related species are very interesting, and say a lot about the evolution and adaptability of the genus.