Many plants attract the attention of a wide variety of insects and people with their charming beauty and rich aroma. But it so happened that in nature there are species with a rather unpleasant, even disgusting, smell.
After reading this article, you can learn about the name of the most smelly flower in the world and what it is. We will talk about what other flowers with unpleasant odors still exist. Below are descriptions of some of the more appealing ones.
general information
The main feature of some plants is an unpleasant odor. By the way, in nature there are specimens whose appearance corresponds to the piquant smell given to them by nature: sometimes such flowers look like pieces of spoiled meat. However, among them, oddly enough, there are surprisingly beautiful, original representatives.
Unusual plants are described below, which belong to the group of the most smelly flowers in the world. By the way, many of them, in addition to the unique smell, are also of enormous size.
The most stinky plant
By right, this flower can be attributed to the list of plants with the most unpleasant odor. Its peculiarity is that it is very large.
What is the name of a smelly flower? On the islands of Kalimantan, Sumatra and Java, the original arnoldi rafflesia, also known as cadaveric lily, grows. This amazing plant consists of only one flower. In addition, it has neither roots nor leaves. This relic has no analogues in the whole world.
The flower is also notable for its amazing colorfulness. It consists of rather fleshy, thick petals of a saturated red color with growths of white shades in the form of warts. Undoubtedly, rafflesia is not only a beautiful smelly flower. It is also the largest in the world, because its diameter reaches 2 meters, and the average weight is 11 kilograms.
In fact, it is a parasite plant. Not every person manages to admire such a miracle, because this is really a rare flower. It grows only in the tropical forests of Malaysia, and even there are almost no copies left there. But the main reason for the inability to admire this unique plant for some time lies entirely in another - its terrible aroma.
Not many people agree that this very stinky flower is beautiful. But the concept of “beauty”, as you know, is relative. The aroma of rafflesia resembles the smell of rotting meat. This property of the flower attracts a huge number of insects, for example, flies.
What is it for? The plant does not feed on insects, but uses them in this way for pollination. A fly crouched on a flower, falling off in pollen, flies to the same plant - this is how pollination occurs. An interesting fact is that the seeds of the plant spread elephants.
Amorphophallus titanum
Many plants belonging to the species of amorphophallus also emit a rather unpleasant aroma, but some of them emit odors, for example, reminiscent of spices or chocolate.
There is one type of amorphophallus, from which comes a terribly unpleasant smell of feces or rotten meat. This is a smelly flower - amorphophallus titanum, which is at the same time the highest flower in the world. In height, it can reach 3 meters. Its other name is “cadaveric flower”. Its usual diameter is 50 centimeters and its weight is about 50 kilograms.
Until recently, titanic amorphophallus grew exclusively in the forests of the tropics of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia), but with the advent of man in these places in the wild, he almost disappeared. Now it can be seen in the botanical gardens of the whole world. Flowering lasts only one to two days, during which a terrible fetid odor, more reminiscent of the smells of rotten fish and eggs, hangs around the plant.
Dracunculus vulgaris
This stinky flower is one of the first among its kind. Dracunculus vulgaris is a perennial herbaceous plant, quite widespread in southern Europe (Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Albania, France, Italy and France).
It grows in height up to 2 meters. This species is characterized by a large purple inflorescence, having a length in the range of 25-135 centimeters. The smell of a flower resembles the stench of carrion and excrement.
Giant stapelia
This low-growing plant is native to Africa (southeast of the continent). Its height is 20 cm, diameter - 35 cm. The smell of a flower, which attracts mainly flies, also resembles rotting meat.
This flower is grown in indoor conditions. Yes, such a stinking home flower can be seen in the collections of many lovers. By the way, a plant with such original inflorescences is an unusual addition to the design of many interiors.
Stapelia is a succulent, like a cactus. Its flowers are covered with hairs, usually have a brownish color.
Hydnor African
Another smelly flower called "hydnorum" grows in the deserts of South Africa. The whole plant consists of only one flower. It appears over the dry sandy desert land after the rains, emitting the aroma of excrement.
This is a parasite plant that leads an unusual and strange underground lifestyle, eating at the expense of other plants. Its roots penetrate deep underground, where they cling to the root systems of neighboring plants. So it extracts nutrients and water for itself.
His flower is orange, fleshy, reaching a length of 10-15 centimeters. Although it emits a terrible fetid odor, its seeds and fruits are consumed by some animals (porcupines, jackals, etc.) and local residents.
Giant Aristolochia
The giant aristolochia belongs to the list of bad-smelling plants. She comes from South America.
Grows in Panama and Brazil, less often in Colombia. The red flower emits a rather pungent fetid odor, with which all sewage pumps are well aware. By the way, this aroma attracts bees and other insects.
The plant is often grown in botanical gardens. Often it is called the Giant Pelican Flower. Many of its varieties have unusual traps for insects. This flower is one of the largest and most bizarre on earth.
American Lysichyton
Another smelly flower blooms in early spring (sometimes even at the end of winter). The perennial plant American Lysychiton grows along streams and rivers in moist coastal forests, as well as in swamps and other areas with high humidity. Their distribution place is North America (west of the Pacific coast).
Plant height - 30-40 centimeters. Lysichiton is often used in landscape design.
Simplocarpus
A short, foul-smelling plant grows in wetlands in the lower reaches of the Amur and the rivers of Primorye. They can be found in North America, Japan, as well as on Sakhalin.
Often this plant is called Swamp cabbage, Skunk cabbage (Eastern) and many other similar names.
