Where there are many flowers, the heart of the blessed gods amuses there ...
Sappho
The largest plant in the world, or rather, the flower is taller than a human being, stinks like a dead decaying animal, and its color is dark red, like that of a rotting body. Amorphophallus Titanum, which grows in Indonesia, was named "corpse flower" by the locals. This flower is a phenomenon, and it is naturally pollinated by insects that are looking for carrion. The smell of the plant is comparable to something between the smell emanating from a corpse and rotten fish. Therefore, you can admire them only with a handkerchief.
These plants live in the wild, however, in recent times they can be found in botanical gardens around the world. The last sensational incident associated with this flower occurred in Washington, due to the fact that it bloomed. Because of this, a hotline was even established in the botanical garden, by calling which one could find out the latest information on the progress of the flower. This was done because of such a high public interest in the flower.
Ripe Amorphophallus Titanum emerges once every three years from a tuber that is stored underground. In order for this decorated giant inflorescence to be born, the flower needs to make a lot of effort. When the plant blooms, only one leaf appears, which can be compared in size to a small tree, with many leaves. After that, the plant sheds its leaf and plunges into a dormant state for 4 months, in order to store energy.
The height of an adult flower is usually 1 m 82 cm. But there are exceptions to any rule. So in Bonn in 2003, an inflorescence 2 m 74 cm high was registered. The last record was in Holland in 1932, 2 m 67 cm.
The scientist set up an experiment, as a result of which it was found that the flower changes the temperature of the environment. During the experiment, the temperature in the room rose from 20°C to 32°C.
The weight of a flower can reach 100 kg. The pistil of the flower reaches from one and a half to three meters in height, and has a yellow color. The pistil frames the purple corolla. It blooms only 72 hours and once every 5-10 years. Some argue that this flower is the carrier of the strongest charge of sexual energy.
Perhaps, flowers for everyone are associated with femininity, a delicate sweet aroma and summer. But mother nature, hand in hand with evolution, has created something that is directly opposite to our ideas about the world of flowers. And that rotten smelly flower that you haven’t watered for a month, having gone on vacation, will seem to you a paradise creature with a wonderful aroma, in comparison with the winners of our selection.
First, the plants that will be discussed below exude an unpleasant smell of decomposition, rotting, or excrement. The target "audience" of these flowers are flies, dung beetles and other insects with a perverted sense of beauty.
Secondly, this smell is only a bait, and not a weapon at all, which everyone who heard it thought of, because some of the plants are predators. Some of the "exhibits" below are also the largest on the planet.
A fleshy and succulent plant resembling a cactus. He does not have stems, but the flowers are covered with villi, spots and look like an inhabitant of the deep sea. This is probably why his other names are star cactus, starfish, large toad flower, etc. In Stapelia gigantea, flowers reach about 40 cm in diameter, and the more they exude a stench - flies, larvae and beetles like the smell of decaying flesh so much that they crawl right into the center of the plant, where the reproductive organs are located.
This plant is native to South Africa, but many grow this stinky flower in their rock gardens or as a landscape ornament.
Gidnora with a fleshy crown grows from the sandy ground in the deserts of South Africa.
Spreading the suffocating smell of death around it, meanwhile, it attracts small pollinators. The beetle crawls into the very epicenter of the "aroma" through the gaps between the petals, pollinates the plant, looks for food or lays eggs.
Meanwhile, the plant itself feeds on roots that go deep into the ground, sticking to other people's roots. The ground part of this plant can be conditionally called a flower, in fact, it is a calyx with a rough outer surface of a sandy color. Inside, the surface of the hydnora is more delicate and changes color from white to blood red, which also attracts various insects, but mostly scavenger beetles. Also, this smelly flower is very similar to the worm from the movie Tremors.
The pale and hard integumentary tissues of the lily are covered with dark frequent hairs, which resembles peeled hair on a dead animal. The flower exudes the smell of decay, which attracts cadaveric and blow flies.
On the first day of flowering, the stigmas of pistils open, i.e. female stigmas, flies bathe in nectar, lay offspring. The next day, the stigmas of the pistils close, the stamens open, the sticky bodies of insects get dirty in male pollen, the smell of which prompts insects to flee, that is, to another smelly flower. This is how cross-pollination occurs.
On cloudy days, when there are few insects, Helicodiceros is able to raise the temperature so that its scent can spread much further, attracting other flies. It grows in the northwestern part of the Mediterranean region.
The largest smelly flower in the world is also known as Voodoo lily.
It grows in flat terrain, preferring the tropics and subtropics of southern and western Africa, China, Madagascar, India, Nepal, etc.
It blooms once every 10 years, perhaps, accumulating all the forces only for this flowering. At the age of five, a bud begins to form, a cob-shaped inflorescence of maroon color appears on the surface of the stem, which consists of male and female flowers, covered with a dense hood on top. The height of the cob is about 70 cm. Some sources claim that Amorphophallus titanum can grow up to 4 meters in height. Outside are male flowers, and below, hidden, are female.
The polite Englishmen call the aroma emanating from plants "bad fish" (spoiled fish), but in reality it is simply impossible to describe it in words. However, it is precisely this smell that is needed in order to attract insects necessary for pollination. At this time, the cob itself warms up to 40 C from the inside, this is also necessary to attract pollinators and not only. Usually, the solemn flowering of the giant takes place in front of a crowd of tourists who come from all over the globe. The life expectancy of Amorphophallus is about 40 years, but it blooms only 3-4 times in its life.
Pale yellow flowers that grow mainly around ponds and lakes. This smelly flower smells like a frightened skunk. This quality is responsible for attracting insect pollinators. Another well-known name for this flower is skunk cabbage.
Lysichithon is also able to raise the temperature to survive in frosts, so that snow melts around the flower.
Habitat - swampy terrain, banks of rivers and reservoirs of North America. North American Indians used this flower for food, boiling it several times, because. in its fresh form, the plant causes acute pain in the stomach. They also used it to treat various ailments.
Habitat: China, Japan, North America and Russia - in the Far East. Prefers wet and damp places, flooded meadows, river banks and swamps.
The appearance of simplocarpus is very exotic, especially against the background of barely melted snow. It is a burgundy, dense and leathery hood with a pointed end that hangs over a round yellow cob. Characterized by a pungent smell that can be described as carrion with garlic, so attractive to pollinating insects.
Climbing plant with dense greenery, oval leaves and smelly flower. In Large-flowered Aristolochia, flowers are about 20 cm in diameter and 50-60 cm long, exude a strong smell of carrion, which is very popular with insects. The flowers themselves "with a secret": when the fly decides to get out of the flower, having eaten nectar, the villi that cover the surface of the calyx do not allow them to get out. The insect flounders for a long time until it pollinates aristocholia. The villi wither under the influence of pollen, and the fly moves on. The flowers themselves look very impressive against the background of dark green foliage - the correct heart-shaped shape and maroon color with white veins, so the plant often serves as a landscape decoration.
Flowering tree plant. During flowering exudes the smell of organic decomposition. Pollinated by flies attracted by the smell.
The scent radius varies by species. The flowers of Sarpanthus Palanga stink of long-dead animals, have a dark crimson color and harmless appearance.
The smelly flower of this plant exudes such an unpleasant smell that among the ancient Romans he was the god of manure, and the name of a whole species of plants with an unpleasant smell is dedicated to him. Smelly Sterculia (Sterculia foetida) blooms only in its natural environment, spreading the smell of excrement. First, flowers appear, attract pollinators, and only then leaves appear.
It's a mushroom that would fit as a setting for an alien movie.
Before the opening of the lobes, it looks like a large egg with a heterogeneous bumpy surface, off-white in color with brown and pink spots at the base. Later, when its blades (3-8 pieces) open, it takes the form of a red star-shaped flower, the petals of which look like slippery tentacles. Inside the plant is spongy, bumpy, covered with brown mucus. It emits a putrid odor that attracts insects that spread its spores.
Another mushroom, the smell of which can be confused with rotten meat. Popularly referred to as the starfish mushroom. Literally translated "disgusting redness". The rotten smell attracts insects that carry its spores. Widespread in Australia.
It is hard to believe that the world's largest flower is a plant taller than a man, foul-smelling like a decaying dead animal, and having the dark red color of a rotting body. But the Indonesian Amorphophallus Titanum or - "cadaverous flower", as the locals call it, is a reality, a phenomenon pollinated in natural conditions by insects looking for carrion.
These plants not only live in the wild, but many have bloomed in the past few years in botanical gardens around the world. The last of these, causing a great uproar, bloomed for the first time in public in Washington. The public interest in the life of the flower is so high that the Botanical Garden has established a hotline with records of updated information on the progress of the flower.
A mature "corpse" flower emerges from a huge tuber stored underground once every three years. To produce this gigantic, ornate inflorescence, the plant makes a lot of effort. When young, the plant develops a single leaf, which can reach the size and appearance of a small tree with many leaves. However, in preparation for several days of flowering, the plant must shed its leaf and remain dormant for more than 4 months to store energy.
An adult eight-year-old flower is usually 1.82 m tall. However, in May 2003, an inflorescence appeared in Bonn that reached a height of 2.74 m. The previous record was set in 1932, when a flower in Holland reached 2.67 m in height.
According to scientists, this giant flower also changes the temperature of the environment. The experiment was carried out at night. From 20 degrees the temperature in the room rose to 32°C. The increase in temperature occurred from 23:00 to 3-4 in the morning, when the temperature again dropped to 20 degrees.
Italian botanists first recorded a plant of this class in 1878. The first such flower grown in captivity was cultivated in the English Royal Botanic Gardens in 1889, causing such a sensation in society that it took police to control the crowd.
In recent years, the rainforests of Sumatra have suffered from civilization and pollution, and it is not known how many flowers of this species have died. Indonesian experts believe the flowers are in danger. One fact is reassuring: such a huge interest in this unusual plant makes scientists grow it in artificial conditions.
The plant got its name due to the stench emanating from it, which is compared with something in between the smell emanating from a corpse and rotten fish. Therefore, it is recommended to admire them only in the presence of a handkerchief.
The weight of a flower can reach 100 kilograms. It has a prominent yellow pistil, one and a half to three meters high, which frames a purple corolla.
It blooms only 72 hours and once every 5-10 years. Despite the fact that it smells disgusting, some argue that the "corpse flower" is the bearer of the strongest charge of sexual energy.
Titan Arum was discovered in 1878 on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, whose inhabitants gave it such an unflattering name, ITAR-TASS reports. It was artificially grown in only a few botanical gardens in the world. The smell emanating from the flower attracts dead beetles and blow flies, which pollinate it.
Barsukov_Andrey
The biggest flower
Wednesday, August 03, 2016 08:22 AM (link)In the Belgian botanical garden, located in the city of Meise, the largest flower in the world has grown and blossomed. This plant is called Titan Arum, or as the people say “corpse flower”.
The plant acquired such a strange name for a disgusting smell, reminiscent of the smell of not just rotten fish, but a rotten corpse. The weight of the flower reached 18 kilograms, and it is almost 2 meters in height.
Botanical garden workers said that people have only 72 hours to look at the giant flower. It has a yellow pistil, about three meters high. If you want to see it, you should bring a handkerchief or any other fabric with you so that you can cover your nose.
Biologists said that the flower can act as an aphrodisiac.
It was first discovered in 1878 in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. The locals gave it such a name because of the unpleasant smell.
itast
World's largest flower blooms in Belgium
Friday, July 29, 2016 10:17 pm (link)Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), or "corpse flower", which has one of the largest inflorescences in the world, has bloomed in the botanical garden of the Belgian city of Meise. In height, a blossoming flower reaches 1.9 meters, and its weight is about 18 kilograms.
1.
3.
"Corpse flower" bloomed in front of the Capitol in Washington
So far, there are no such conditions in Russia, the botanist says. And we don't need it.
Americans have witnessed an unusual phenomenon: one of the largest and most fetid flowers in the world, Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanic), bloomed near the Washington Capitol. However, before approaching the flower, it is worth getting a protective mask or gas mask.
Crowds of Americans are ready to give a lot of money to see how this huge flower blooms, about two and a half meters high. But, perhaps, it is better to watch the blooming plant through an online broadcast - Titan Arum is known for its terrible smell, which is compared to rotting fish and meat, and rotten eggs. That is why the plant has another name - "corpse flower". Journalists have previously noted that in order to approach the Titan Arum during the flowering period, the workers of the New York Botanical Garden had to wear gas masks. But visitors to the greenhouse are not given any means of protection.
A specific "flavor" helps to attract insects involved in the pollination process. Moreover, the smell appears precisely during the flowering period, since the temperature of the upper part of the plant begins to approach the temperature of the human body. Titan Arum blooms for two days, and on Monday it will begin to exude a stench with the greatest force. Outwardly, the flower is quite beautiful: the pistil of the flower resembles a corn cob, which is surrounded by petals - yellow on the outside and burgundy on the inside.
"Washington" Titan Arum in 2005 was acquired by the National Museum of Nature of the Smithsonian Institution, and then transplanted from the greenhouse into the Botanical Garden on Capitol Hill.
The natural habitat of the Titan Arum is the rainforests of Sumatra. It is noted that the Titan Arum was first discovered by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari in 1878. The history of the cultivation of the flower dates back to 1889, when the flower was placed in the greenhouse of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK. Now Titan Arum is one of the rare plants, but it can be found in the botanical gardens of the world: Indonesia, Germany, Italy, France, USA, Belgium. In Russia, Titan Arum does not grow, because, as experts from the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden of Peter the Great explained to RG, this is a very expensive and whimsical plant that requires special maintenance and care. So far, there are no such conditions in Russia.
This Smolevka grows only on the high cliffs of Gibraltar and has long been considered a completely extinct species. But in 1994, one specimen of this plant was accidentally discovered by a climber. Now the seeds of this plant are in the millennium seed bank, and the resin itself is grown in the Gibraltar Botanical Gardens and in the Royal Botanic Gardens in London.
parrot beak
A very rare plant, this flower, like two drops of water, looks like a parrot's beak, which is why it got its name. Many consider it disappeared, although there are enthusiasts who think otherwise. This plant is native to the Canary Islands. Their only pollinators were nectaries, which have long since disappeared.
chocolate space
The birthplace of this flower is Mexico, for 100 years it has been considered extinct from the wild. In our time, you can find only a barren species of this plant, which was bred in 1902. Its flowers are 3-4 cm in diameter and smell of vanilla in summer.
cokyo
Kokyo is one of the rarest types of flowers that bloom on a certain type of Hawaiian tree. These trees were discovered in 1860 and already in 1950 they were recognized as extinct. However, 20 years later, one tree of this species was found, which, unfortunately, died during a natural disaster - fires in 1978. However, one of the branches of the tree was saved and even grafted onto other Hawaiian trees.
flower kadupul
This flower is considered very rare due to the fact that it blooms very rarely, although it is fairly easy to grow. It grows on the islands of Sri Lanka, and blooms only at midnight and dies immediately after flowering. There is a belief that when a flower blooms, Nagas (semi-mythical characters) descend from heaven to earth to present this flower to the Buddha.
ghost orchid
The ghost orchid is a very interesting and rare plant. For 20 years it was considered extinct, but recently reappeared. Due to their rare nature, their natural reproduction is considered almost impossible. Ghost orchids do not feed like all plants, i.e. not at all from the process of photosynthesis, since they do not have leaves. The roots of the plant are nourished by a special type of fungus that attaches to the roots.
Yellow and purple lady's slippers
The species of this flower, which was previously widespread throughout Europe, is now a rare species of orchids. In 1917, several examples were found on a golf course in Great Britain. They are very expensive and the price for one of its processes reaches $ 5,000. The initial development of these shoes is similar to the development of ghost orchids: at first, the sprout that germinated through the seed needs a special fungus with which it feeds. And only after a while the plant begins to grow its own leaves.
Yutan Poluo
A unique find and discovery by a Chinese farmer. It happened when he was cleaning steel pipes. Yutan Poluo is a flower that does not need soil and grows on any hard surface. For a very long time there was such an opinion that it grows only in Buddhist temples on gold-covered Buddha statues.
corpse flower
The smell of this flower is as disgusting as the sight of this Sumatran flower is rare. The height of the flowers of this plant reaches up to 2 meters. This is a very vulnerable flower, its growth depends entirely on a special vine that feeds the plant. The pollinators of this plant are flies and beetles, attracted by the smell of rotting flesh.
| Tags: |
The corpse flower, also called the corpse lily and rafflesia, got its name because of the smell emitted, more precisely, the stench. The genus itself includes 12 species of "relatives", among which the Arnoldi lily (Arnoldii) is the most famous.
A corpse flower is not able to synthesize the organic substances it needs, therefore, like a vampire, it draws juices from others. Rafflesia chose a vine of the genus Tetrastigma (grape) as a donor. The seeds of a corpse lily, having fallen on a liana, germinate and, letting out suckers-sprouts, literally dig into the host plant.
A corpse flower grows slowly: the bark of the vines, under which the seed develops, swells only after a year and a half, as a result, a bud is formed that ripens for another nine months (future bud). Then, sitting right on the bare ground, huge flowers bloom. Rafflesia, reminiscent of decaying meat in color and smell, attracts many flies (they also pollinate it). The ovary develops for another seven months. The fruit contains up to 4,000,000 seeds.
The corpse flower reproduces with the help of large animals (usually elephants), which, crushing the fruit while walking, carry the seeds. However, only a few will germinate and continue such a long cycle.
The world learned about rafflesia thanks to officer Stamford Raffles and botanist Joseph Arnold, who discovered it on about. Sumatra. When the corpse flower blossomed, it was measured and the first description was made, giving a rather beautiful name, which it bears to this day. By the way, the locals (Indonesians) called it "bunga patma", which means "lotus flower" in their language. Agree, also a beautiful name.
At the disposal of botanists, there are practically no indications of any group to which, in theory, the amazing rafflesia belonged. The flower itself was the only organ that survived, but it was so hypertrophied, so specialized (meaning a specific and unique method of pollination) and modified that it was impossible to determine the place of the corpse lily in the plant world. Only molecular phylogenetics (the nucleotide sequence of DNA) could help here. But here, too, a number of difficulties arose. It turned out that there is an exchange of genes (horizontal) between the cadaveric flower and its host plant, so the analysis of the genes gave very contradictory results. We decided to dwell on the fact that rafflesia belongs to Malpighiales - a huge group of dicots, including many families. However, the taxonomic position of this strange plant haunted American botanists and molecular biologists. They decided to undertake a large-scale study. Long and difficult work led to the conclusion: Rafflesia belong to the Euphorbiaceae family. However, the structure itself denied this relationship. Yes, and the flowers of euphorbia are small. The authors of the study agreed: the diameter of the flower has grown several dozen times! Just imagine - the weight of a corpse lily can reach 75 kg with a height of more than three meters! The uniqueness of the plant has attracted the attention of botanical gardens around the world. Of course, creating conditions for the growth and reproduction of Amorphophallus (another name) is quite difficult, but some botanists are still making progress. For example, such a corpse flower bloomed in Belgium in the city of Meise. According to the staff of the botanical garden, its length is a little less than two and a half meters, and its approximate weight is 50 kg.