Plants that claim to be the most unusual in the world (8 photos)

The entertainer Flora, the Roman goddess of spring and flowers, has settled her amazing creatures in the most unexpected places on the planet. And some of her creations are so amazing that it is difficult to identify the plant in them.





And not even the first time.

Foul Giant



Rafflesia Arnoldi - a parasitic plant can lay claim to the status of the largest and heaviest. Red petals with bumpy white spots emit an unpleasant smell of rotten meat, attracting pollinators - forest flies. The weight of the “flower,” which is popularly called the corpse lily, can reach 8 kg.

Bloody parasite





African Hydnora is a root parasite and is not inferior to its product in originality. And in terms of disgusting smell it even surpasses rafflesia. The plant, reminiscent in shape of a collapsed tropical fruit, attracts pollinators - dung beetles and others with a similar persistent smell of excrement.

Symbol of male power



Amorphophallus titanica - an inhabitant of the tropics boasts one of the largest inflorescences on the planet. The plant got its name accordingly. Translated from Greek, it means “shapeless phallus.” The inflorescence in the shape of a yellowish cob is wrapped in a leaf-like appendage, and underground the flower, which also does not have a pleasant aroma, hides a tuber weighing up to 50 kg.

Secret Christmas tree



Wollemia was discovered relatively recently - in the 90s in Australia. And it belongs to one of the oldest species on the planet, which were widespread back in the Jurassic period. Wollemia is distinguished by its unusual spongy bark, reminiscent of airy chocolate bubbles, and practically does not produce lateral shoots. The branches are arranged in a spiral, forming a cone, in which the shoot dies after the seeds ripen.

Wonderful miracle



The relict plant Welwitschia amazing is endemic to Angola and Namibia. The age of Velvichia exceeds 1500 years. The plant is truly amazing and resembles an alien with tentacles. It spreads along the ground and does not grow in height. But its unusual appearance - a thick stem-like stem with two leaves - is due to specific arid growing conditions.

Sexy orchid



The dragon glyptodon or dracaea is a very pragmatic Australian endemic. The orchid is pollinated by a single species of wasp. Moreover, only males. In this connection, the dracaea resorts to deception: it resorts to sexual attraction and imitates the female flower wasp - tinnids - in appearance and smell. The male mistakes the flower for a partner and tries to mate. And then it transfers pollen to neighboring specimens.

Green baby



Wolfia, a member of the duckweed subfamily, is considered the smallest flowering plant on Earth. The size of each plate does not exceed 1 millimeter with an average weight of 150 micrograms. At the same time, wolffia is a useful protein product that is used not only in aquarium farming, but also in the food industry.