The weirdest plants in the world

Rafflesia

Rafflesia, also called Rafflesia flower, was named in 1818 by the British explorer and naturalist Thomas Stamford Raffles who discovered it. . These huge red flowers can be up to 1 meter in diameter and weigh 11 kilograms. When the Rafflesia flower is in full bloom, it emits a stench like a rotting corpse. What's even more amazing is that the flower emits a certain amount of heat and disguises itself as an animal corpse with residual warmth, attracting flies and several scavenging insects. It spreads pollen, which is why Rafflesia is also known as the corpse lily.

Rafflesia is the largest single flower in the world. These spotted blood-red flowers mainly grow on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. As a plant, Rafflesia cannot perform photosynthesis and can only be parasitic on tropical vines. What is even more peculiar is that Rafflesia has no roots, stems, or leaves, and its large flowers are its only structure. Due to the destruction of the ecological environment, wild Rafflesia has become very rare. People can only appreciate this magical plant that takes 9 months from buds to blooming in local botanical gardens.

Hemotooth fungus

If you explore the taiga forests of the northeastern Pacific coast, you will be lucky enough to encounter this goosebump-inducing fungus. Bright blood-like juice oozes from the smooth white cap, like bleeding skin or accidentally splashed animal blood. This fungus, called Haematodonta, is often nicknamed "Blood Hydrangea" or "Strawberry Cream Fungus" because of its peculiar appearance.

Although the blood tooth fungi look weird, they are not toxic. However, because the blood tooth fungus tastes extremely bitter, it is considered an inedible fungus, thus avoiding being a meal. fate. In fact, Haemodentia has also promoted the development of medicine. Scientists have discovered a component from the red juice exuded by Haemodentia that has antibacterial and anticoagulant properties, which has provided help for the research of anticoagulants.

Amorphophallus giant flower

The more popular name of Amorphophallus giant flower is corpse flower. Like Rafflesia, Amorphophallus giant flower also emits a rotten smell when it is in full bloom. These foul smells make people The scavenging insects mistake it for an animal carcass, thus attracting insects to spread its branches and seeds everywhere. The flower stems of Amorphophallus giant flower are thick and tall, reaching a height of nearly 3 meters. However, some scientists believe that the earliest size of Amorphophallus giant flower was similar to that of a normal parasitic plant. However, after tens of millions of years of evolution, the size of Amorphophallus giant flower has increased by 79 times than before.

Amorphophallus giant flower is a plant endemic to the rainforest in western Sumatra, Indonesia. However, its survival is increasingly threatened due to the deterioration of the ecological environment. In order to protect this species, several famous large botanical gardens around the world have introduced and planted this plant. A plant. Amorphophallus giant flower blooms once every 5 to 10 years, but the flowering time is completely unpredictable, and the flowering time is only a few days. Therefore, every time Konjac giant flower blooms, it will attract a large number of plant lovers, even if it emits The stench makes people feel like standing in the middle of a garbage dump, but people still stop and watch.

African egret flower

The African egret flower, which lives in arid and desert areas of South Africa and Namibia, is a parasitic plant that lives in the mud. The African Egret flower has no leaves and the entire plant does not have any chlorophyll, with all nutrients coming from the rhizome of another plant. Its flowers will emerge from the ground after heavy rain or strong winds, but these pink or bright red fleshy flowers are often overlooked because they are often hidden in the trees that serve as hosts.

The smell of African egret flowers is completely different from its name. These flowers emit a smell similar to feces, which attracts waves of scavenging insects to help pollinate them. Not only is it a "master of disguise", the African egret flower is also a "brutal killer". The African egret flower will use the small tentacles inside the petals to tie up small insects that cannot escape for pollination, and then use the corpses of these small insects as its own nourishment. The fruits of the African egret flower grow in the soil and often take two years to mature. According to some wild adventurers, the fruits of the African egret flower taste like white potatoes.

Stone Flower

Stone flower has a rather literary scientific name called Selaginella leucophylla. It is famous for its super survival ability in the plant world. It can survive in extremely dry climates. Survival in the environment for several years. When the moisture on the surface and in the air is extremely low, the leaves of the stone flower will wilt and the entire plant will curl into a ball shape. Even if up to 95% of the water is lost, as long as the roots are not damaged, the stone flower can continue to survive in a dormant manner, and its endurance is excellent.

Once the stone flower gets water again, the originally compacted balls will open one by one within a few hours, and the dry leaves become shiny again, as if they are coming back to life, so the stone flower is also called For resurrection moss. In some parts of Mexico, the stone flower is regarded as a symbol of luck and rebirth. Locals also wear it on their bodies, which means absorbing negative energy and receiving good luck.

Dinoflagellate

Dinoflagellate is a single-celled aquatic plankton. Because it contains luciferin and luciferase in its body, it will produce chemical reactions when stimulated by the external environment. Emit blue radiant light. Dinoflagellates have a very small global distribution and are concentrated on two islands in the Caribbean: Mosquito Bay on Vieques, Puerto Rico, and the Glowing Lagoon near Falmouth, Jamaica.

Dinoflagellates will only glow when exposed to external stimulation, and the brightness is weak. Therefore, only at night, when you stir the lake water with your hands or paddles, these organisms will offer you "Yingying Lake Water" The beautiful scenery of "A Pond Full of Stars".

Sugar Caped Mushroom

When you roam in the oak forests of the northwest United States, you will smell the sweet smell in the air from time to time, like candy and ice cream. When you taste it, you will find that this sweet aroma comes from an ordinary-looking orange mushroom. In terms of appearance, sugar capped mushrooms are no different from other mushrooms growing in grass, but when you get closer and smell them, the sweet smell will make you identify them immediately.

When cooked, sugar capped mushrooms emit an aroma similar to maple syrup. Therefore, many bakeries and ice cream shops use sugar capped mushrooms to decorate flavored cookies, ice cream and other desserts. Some chefs also find that the aroma of dried sugar capped mushrooms is more intense, so they dry and grind the mushrooms into powder and add them to dishes or drinks to create a unique dish.

Sarracenia wingata

Just like there are herbivores in the animal kingdom, there are also "carnivores" in the plant kingdom, and Sarracenia wingata is one of the leaders. Unlike most plants, which use photosynthesis to absorb energy, Sarracenia pterygoid obtains its energy by preying on insects such as ants, wasps, or flies. Sarracenia can be found in tropical wetland ecosystems around the world.

Every spring, flowers with a diameter of 4 to 7 centimeters will grow on the top of the wing-shaped Sarracenia, which look like a pair of wings, which is where its name comes from. The length of the bottle varies depending on the type, but is generally about 20 to 60 centimeters long. In order to attract insects, Sarracenia wingata exudes a kind of honey, and the bugs follow these sweet temptations and step into a fatal trap.

Whiteberry

Whiteberry is a plant native to eastern North America, about 50 to 60 centimeters tall. In addition to the eye-catching bright red stems and branches of the whiteberry, the most attractive thing is its fruit. The fruits of white berries are milky white in color with a black root that looks like an eyeball, so white berries are also called baby eyes

The fruits of white berries contain cardiogenic toxins that are harmful to the entire plant. The most toxic part will have a direct sedative effect on human myocardial tissue. If ingested by mistake, it can cause cardiac arrest or even death. But interestingly, white berries are not toxic to birds and are even a favorite food of many birds.

Vegetable Sheep

Vegetable Sheep is a bedding plant that grows in New Zealand and is mostly found in dry and rocky alpine areas. New Zealand's once-infested rabbits severely damaged local vegetation, and vegetable sheep were not immune. Although the hare population was later controlled and the vegetation slowly recovered, vegetable sheep are still rare. Vegetable sheep has leaves that are bunched together like down. From a distance, it looks like a sheep sticking to the ground, hence its name.

The "wool-like" leaves of vegetable sheep can prevent moisture loss in the dry climate of high mountain areas, and their close-to-the-ground growth structure also allows them to escape the harsh mountain wind. Under the clumps of leaves are various decaying substances that provide nutrients to the vegetables and retain moisture like a sponge.