By agrimag
Not all flowers are fragrant and beautiful – here are some of the world’s most peculiar plants that look like some monstrous villains from a children’s cartoon.
Rafflesia arnoldii. Starting this list is the world’s largest flower, the Rafflesia arnoldii. It grows up to three feet and weighs around seven kilograms. This gigantic flower has no leaves, roots, and stem and smells like rotting flesh, which attracts pollinators. This flower is a rare sight and can only be found in the rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Corpse flower or Amorphophallus titanum. This is also a rare stinky flower that only blooms every five to ten years. Like the Rafflesia, it uses its foul smell to attract pollinators and is also found in Indonesian rainforests.
Elephant foot yam. This strange-looking edibles can be found in Africa, Australia, and Asia. It grows up to two meters during the rainy season, and like the first two species, has a pungent smell but is used in various cuisines.
Rusty bleeding tooth fungus (Hydnellum peckii). Meanwhile, this flower grows in Europe and North America and as its name states, looks like a tooth with droplets of blood. This mushroom has an extreme bitter and peppery taste, which experts advise not to eat.
Other smelly plants are the pelican flower, which grows in Central America and the Caribbean; Hydnora Africana (which is said to treat diarrhea, kidney and bladder problems, and acne), and starfish cactus, both from South Africa; and the Voodoo lily from the Mediterranean.
The pebble plant from South Africa and Darth Vader plant (Aristolochia Salvadorensis) from Brazil use their appearance for their survival. The latter plant, like most of the plants mentioned, has a rotting flesh aroma which it uses to attract pollinators.
These, and more of these plants, are just some of the strange species we wouldn’t probably dare to see and smell.
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