Strange And Bizarre Flowers: Black Sheep Of The Plant Family

Hideous, stinky and sinister are hardly adjectives you?d use to describe a flowering plant. But just as in any large, diverse group, if you search hard enough, you?ll find some real weirdos. Living way out on the fringe of the flower family are some highly strange and rare plants; so bizarre, they appear as though conjured up by B movie science fiction aficionados. How would you like rat-eating, black slime-emitting or rotten meat-smelling porno plants?

What would you think of a red polka-dotted flower the size of a smart car that only blooms for 3 to 4 days then collapses into a black slimy alien-like ooze? Oh, and if you catch of whiff of it, you?d think there was a dead camel lodged in its grip. This is the largest flower on the planet, weighing in at about 25 lbs. Rafflesia arnoldii , or affectionately called the Corpse Lily, is a parasite that depends on a vine for survival. It gives off a putrid whiff of decay to attract the carrion insects that pollinate it.

While the polka-dotted Corpse Lily is almost so ugly it could be considered ?cute?, another member of stinky-plant family could not. In fact, as its name implies, the Titan amorphophallus resembles a huge phallus. This extremely rare plant, known as the Corpse Flower produces a bloom nearly 6 feet tall, (some as tall as10 feet) every 40 years or so! It also attracts carrion insects for pollination, so its perfume is of stinky carcasses; much more potent than the Corpse Lily. Like its stinky flower relative, it blooms for only a few days.

The most sinister and conniving flower of all was recently discovered in the Philippines. It eats rats! The Nepenthes attenboroughii, is a type of pitcher plant that grows a trap so wide it can catch not only insects but rodents as well. It produces acid-like enzymes that allows it to easily devour its meal neatly inside its pitcher. This plant is so new it hasn't been given a nick name yet, but coming up with a descriptive one won't be difficult.

Not every plant produces a flower you?d like to display on your desk for a mood booster. Some plants have much different standards when it comes to measuring excellence in form and scent. These unique plants are quite rare and wonderfully crafted to exist successfully in their own weird world. These few diverse flowers living way out on the fringes of the mainstream flower family are only a few examples. If you search a bit, you'll discover there are plenty more black sheep in that family.

Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/gardening/strange-and-bizarre-flowers-black-sheep-of-the-plant-family

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