Top 10 Worst Smelling Flowers in The World
Flowers are the reproductive organs in plants. It is their job to be attractive to agents which can aid in the pollination of their seeds. That’s why flowers have nectars and fragrances and bright colors- to attract pollination agents. However, there are some plants whose flowers are not so heavenly with their scent. There are actually flowers which smell downright disgusting but somehow it is working in the plants’ favor as they tend to attract a lot of pollination agents like flies, butterflies and bees.
Also, it keeps away other animals, mostly herbivores from eating them and humans and other animals from going around them. Their smell is actually very helpful for them in such ways as not only does it help them survive in the wild but it also helps them pollinate, grow and increase their number. Each of these plants have a unique smell and they are found in various parts of the world. The common thing about most of these plants is that they are low growing.
So now, let’s read some more about the Top 10 Worst Smelling Flowers in The World
10 Arum dioscoridis
The Arum dioscoridis is an innocent looking plant in the shape of a conch. It also reminds some of Venus fly trap. However, its only drawback is that it smells like rotten flesh, like most smelly flowers. It was discovered by well-known Greek botanist Pedenius Dioscoridis and the flower was named after him.
It blooms in late spring and like the Eastern and Western Skunk Cabbages, it is found in abundance as well. It has a green covering with black or brown pick marks in the middle which reveals a thin rod like stricture, which stores that awful smell. They are found in many regions in Australia.
9 Western Skunk Cabbage
This funny sounding flower is named after its nauseating skunk-like smell it. It can grow up to 4 to 6 inches as well and is found mostly in swamps. It grows in places like Washington, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, California and Idaho. It has green leaves and they surround the actual rod like structure of the flower which is bright yellow in color.
The special smell attracts flies. To the common eye, it does not even look like a cabbage and it also doesn’t have the distinctive yellow rod structure, when the plant is growing.
8 Eastern Skunk Cabbage
Like the Western Skunk Cabbage, even this flower carries that distinctive skunk smell. It mostly grows in North America and Asia. It is a spring flower and has a reddish-purple color instead of green ones and doesn’t have a rod-like structure in the middle.
The flower itself looks like a cabbage and you can easily mistake it for a red cabbage. Thankfully, the awful smell is ought to keep you away. At least it works for the plant and it attracts bees and butterflies in return.
7 Zulu Giant-Stapelia gigantea
The Zulu Giant of the Stapelia gigantea looks pretty from a distance it has a 5-petalled starfish structure and has a beautiful pale yellow color to it. However, this plant has a very, very strong smell of a rotting corpse. It can be smelt from far distances and is extremely hard to get rid of once it comes in contact with human skin or any objects.
It is a carrion flower and grows in South East Africa. It is a mid-summer flower and it actually grows in abundance during that time of the year.
6 Dragon Arum
The Dragon Arum is actually a very cool-looking flower. It has sharp edges and a tapering sharp tail which gives the illusion of a dragon’s back. It grows in the rocky and hilly areas in the Mediterranean region and is also called the snake lily or vondoo lily.
The plant can grow up to 1 meter in height with a flower of diameter of 80cm. It grows in late spring and it also smells like rotting flesh.
5 Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis
Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis is the world’s biggest orchid. It sounds sweet and all but being an orchid doesn’t change the fact that it smells like rotting meat.
It grows in the island of New Guinea and has weird hairy tentacles which seem like a fantasy monster from a nightmare. Its bright pink in color and can grow up to 4 feet tall.
4 Carob Tree
Next on the list is Carob Tree it is an evergreen tree which grows in many subtropical regions around the world. The name is derived from the edible fruit part of the tree. It is actually pretty common and many have even come across it without knowing what it is.
It gives of a revolting smell of raw semen but thankfully that only comes from the flowers which bloom only in autumn. The pods of this tree are actually rich in calcium, iron, vitamins A, B2 and B3.
3 Stinking Corpse Lily
As we go further into this list of bad-smelling flowers, you will notice that most of them have a rotting corpse smell. This one is no different. Scientifically called Rafflesia arnoldii, this plant grows in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, mostly in Sumatra and Borneo.
It is parasitic plant and has no leaves or roots. It can grow up to 1 meter in diameter and can be 11kilos. It has 5 petals which have a pepperoni-like texture and look and it has no chlorophyll anywhere.
2 Jackal Food Flower
Jackal Food Flower is also known as the Hydnora africana, this flower is also parasitic in nature. Found in the southern parts of Africa, this whole plant is underground but only the flower grows above the ground. It has a disgusting fecal smell which is hard to miss and it attracts dung beetles from afar, for pollination.
1 Titan Arum
The World’s Worst Smelling Flower is Titan Arum which is also known as a corpse flower and its scientific name is Amorphophallus titanum. It’s called so because it gives off the strong, nauseating smell of a corpse. It’s also the world’s largest un-branched inflorescence.
This flower blooms only for 2 to 3 days and then again after several years there is a big spike inside the bract of the flower which produces this smell. It has been seen that if anyone comes in contact with this flower, the smell remains for around 12 hours.
Top 10 Worst Smelling Flowers in the World
Rank Top 10 Worst Smelling Flowers in The World 1 Titan Arum 2 Jackal Food Flower 3 Stinking Corpse Lily 4 Carob Tree 5 Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis 6 Dragon Arum 7 Zulu Giant 8 Eastern Skunk Cabbage 9 Western Skunk Cabbage 10 Arum dioscoridis
So, if you have ever passed by these flowers then do let us know how disgusting was the smell.
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