The smelly flower in the world

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, odor.

After reading this article, you can learn about the name of the most stinking flower in the world and what it is. We will tell you about other flowers with unpleasant odors. Below are descriptions of some of the most visible of them.

general information

The main feature of some plants is an unpleasant smell. By the way, in nature there are specimens, the appearance of which corresponds to the piquant smell given to them by nature: sometimes such flowers are like pieces of spoiled meat. However, among them, strangely enough, there are surprisingly beautiful, original representatives.

Below are described unusual plants that belong to the group of the most smelly flowers in the world. By the way, many of them, in addition to the unique smell, also have huge dimensions.

The smelly plant itself

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 the smelly flower? On the islands of Kalimantan, Sumatra and Java grows an original rafflesia arnoldi, also known as a cadaverous lily. This amazing plant consists of only one flower. In addition, he has neither roots nor leaves. This relic has no analogues in the whole world.

The flower is also remarkable for its amazing colorfulness. It consists of a rather fleshy, thick petals of a rich red coloring with outgrowths 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 weight on the average is 11 kilograms.

In fact - this plant is a parasite. To admire such a miracle is not possible for everyone, because it is really a rare flower. It grows only in the tropical forests of Malaysia, and there are almost no copies left. But the main reason for not being able to admire this unique plant for a while is completely covered in another - its terrible aroma.

Not many agree that this most stinking flower is beautiful. But the notion of "beauty" is known to be relative. The aroma of rafflesia resembles the smell of rotting meat. This property of the flower attracts to it 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, crouching on a flower, collapsing in pollen, flies to the same plant - this is how pollination occurs. Interesting is the fact that the seeds of the plant are spread by elephants.

Amorphophallus titanum

Many plants related to amorphophallus species also give off a rather unpleasant odor, but some of them produce odors, for example, reminiscent of spices or chocolate.

There is one kind of amorphophallus, from which a terribly unpleasant odor of feces or rotten meat comes. This stinking flower is an 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 a "cadaverous flower". Its usual diameter is 50 centimeters, and its weight is about 50 kilograms.

Amorphophallus titanic grow until recently exclusively in the forests of the tropics of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia), but with the advent of man in the wild in this place, he almost disappeared. Now it can be seen in the botanical gardens around the world. Flowering lasts only one to two days, during which there is an awful fetid smell around the plant, more like smells of rotten fish and eggs.

Drakunkulus common

This smelly flower is one of the first among his kind. Drakunkulus common is a perennial herbaceous plant, quite widespread in the territories of Southern Europe (Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Albania, France, Italy and France).

He grows up to 2 meters high. This species is characterized by a large purple inflorescence, having a length within 25-135 centimeters. The smell of a flower is like the smell of carrion and excrement.

Stapelia Giant

This low-growing plant comes from Africa (south-east of the continent). Its height is 20 cm, diameter is 35 cm. The smell of the flower, which attracts mainly flies, also resembles rotting meat.

This flower is grown in room conditions. Yes, such a stinking home flower can be seen in the collections of many amateurs. 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. Flowers are covered with hairs, usually have a brownish color.

Hydrona African

Another stinky flower with the name "hydron" grows in the deserts of South Africa. The whole plant consists of only one flower. It appears over the dried sandy desert earth after the rains, emitting a scent of excrement.

This plant is a parasite, which leads an unusual and strange underground way of life, feeding on other plants. Its roots penetrate deeply into the ground, where they cling to the root systems of neighboring plants. So it extracts nutrients and water for itself.

The flower is orange, fleshy, reaching 10-15 centimeters in length. Although it emits a terrible fetid smell, the seeds and its fruits are eaten by some animals (porcupines, jackals, etc.) and by the locals.

The aristocracy of the giant

To the list of badly smelling plants is also the giant aristolochia. She comes from South America.

It grows in Panama and Brazil, less often in Colombia. The flower of red color emits a rather sharp fetid smell, with which all the sewers are familiar. By the way, this aroma attracts bees and other insects.

The plant is often grown in botanical gardens. It is often 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 Lysychito

Another stinky flower dissolves in early spring (sometimes even at the end of winter). The perennial plant lisychiton American grows along streams and rivers in moist coastal forests, as well as in marshes and other areas with high humidity. The place of their distribution is North America (west of the Pacific coast).

The height of the plant is 30-40 centimeters. Lysychiton is often used in landscape design.

Simplocarpus

A tall, foul-smelling plant grows on wetlands in the lower reaches of the Amur River and the Primorye Rivers. They can be found in North America, Japan, and also on Sakhalin.

Often this plant is called marsh cabbage, cabbage-skunk (eastern) and many other similar names.

Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis

It is believed that the most unpleasant smell is the plant Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis. This original flower is one of the varieties of orchids. The native land of the plant is New Guinea. This flower, despite a rather unpleasant smell, reminiscent of decaying meat, is often grown and at home as a houseplant.

Although many people have associations with flowers associated with a pleasant fragrance and beauty, in the world, as we see, there are a huge number of plants that have a delightful appearance, but exude a repulsive unpleasant smell. All this is created by all-powerful nature for an easier way to attract pollinators to flowers.