Weird is relative. What seems weird to me might not seem weird to you. In the plant kingdom, however, there are definitely some species that most people would acknowledge are highly unusual.
Rafflesia arnoldii
1. Rafflesia arnoldii: this parasitic plant develops the world's largest bloom that can grow over three feet across. The flower is a fleshy color, with spots that make it look like a teenager's acne-ridden skin. It smells bad and has a hole in the center that holds six or seven quarts of water. The plant has no leaves, stems, or roots.The flower with the world's largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant.
Hydnora africana
2. Hydnora africana, an unusual flesh-colored, parasitic flower that attacks the nearby roots of shrubby in arid deserts of South Africa. The putrid-smelling blossom attracts herds of carrion beetles.This member of the Hydnoraceae family was described by Carl Peter Thunberg in 1775. It is found in Namibia and South Africa, growing on the roots of Euphorbia. The parasite attaches itself to Euphorbia roots 5-15cm below ground, but will not harm the host. It is rarely encountered, as it exposes only its rather bizarre-looking dark red flower five to eight centimetres above the ground.
Dracunculus vulgaris
3. Dracunculus vulgaris: smells like rotting flesh, and has a burgundy-colored, leaf-like flower that projects a slender, black appendage.Native to the Mediterranean, the Dracunculus vulgaris is also known as the Voodoo Lily, the Snake Lily and the Stink Lily, as it releases an aroma that reeks of rotting meat when it blooms. This is the flower's way of attracting flies, which help it pollinate other Voodoo Lillies to keep the species alive. Fortunately, the smell usually only lasts for one day.
The dracunculus vulgaris's namesake comes from its unique appearance — a black spike, called a spadix, entwined by purple petals that resemble Dracula's cape. The spadix can grow more than four feet tall.The sinister blossom, much like its namesake, hates direct sunlight and flourishes in the shade. All parts of plant are poisonous if ingested and touching the plant may result in skin irritation or an allergic reaction.
Amorphophallus
4. Amorphophallus: means, literally, "shapeless male genetalia." The name comes from the shape of the protruding black spadix.Another enormous flower found in Indonesia is the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan arum. It is also known as the "corpse flower" for its unpleasant odor. Like the Rafflesia, the Titan emits the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. Technically, the Titan arum is not a single flower. It is a cluster of many tiny flowers, called an inflorescence. The Titan arum has the largest unbranched inflorescence of all flowering plants. The plant can reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh as much as 170 pounds!
Wollemia nobilis
5. Wollemia nobilis: This bizarre-looking tree was known only from 120 million-year-old fossil leaves before 1994; fewer than one hundred exist in the wild. They have strange bark that looks like bubbles of chocolate, multiple trunks, and ferny-looking leaves growing in spirals. They can grow up to 125 feet tall.The Wollemi pine was known only from fossils until 1994 when it was found growing in a rainforest gorge in Australia.Wollemia nobilis (Wollemi pine) has been dubbed a 'living fossil' as it represents the only remaining member of an ancient genus dating back to the time of the dinosaurs, over 65 million years ago. This fascinating tree was only discovered in 1994, causing great excitement in the botanical and horticultural worlds.
Welwitschia mirabilis
6. Welwitschia mirabilis consists of only two leaves and a stem with roots. Its two leaves continue to grow until they resemble an alien life form. The stem gets thicker rather than higher, although this plant can grow to be almost six feet high and twenty-four feet wide. Its estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years. Mirabilis grows in Namibia, and is thought to be a relic of the Jurassic period.
Science fiction has never come up with any Martian to rival this plant. It has a low trunk and two leaves that sprawl on the Namibia gravel for the entire life of the plant, which can span many hundreds of years. If this weren't enough, Welwitschia is a gymnosperm related to Mormon Tea (Ephedra) and produces seeds in cones, not from flowers. An individual Welwitschia plant produces either male or female cones, but never both. That is all! Its two permanent leaves are unique in the plant kingdom. They are the original leaves from when the plant was a seedling, and they just continue to grow and are never shed. They are leathery, broad, strap-shaped and they lie on the ground becoming torn to ribbons and tattered with age. The stem is low, woody, hollowed-out, obconical in shape and sturdy. It grows to about 500 mm in height. The largest recorded specimen is in the Messum Mountains and is 1.8 m high, and another on the Welwitschia Flats near the Swakop River is 1.2 m tall and 8.7 m wide. Carbon dating tells us that on average, welwitschias are 500-600 years old, although some of the larger specimens are thought to be 2000 years old. Their estimated lifespan is 400 to 1500 years. Growth occurs annually during the summer months.
Drakaea glyptodon
7. Drakaea glyptodon: an orchid. It is the color of, and smells like, raw meat. Pollinated by male wasps.Usually the fingernail-sized leaf is the first thing noticed with this orchid and the slender flowering stem observed on closer inspection. They are often common in flattish to gently sloping sandy heath (lower lying regions, not on tall sandy hillocks), growing in gaps between low sedges. However, they tend not to occur in compact colonies, but spread throughout a suitable habitat with a few here and a few there. Flowering time is anywhere between August and November, with September/October being the more usual.
Wolffia angusta
8. Wolffia angusta: the world's smallest flower. A dozen plants would easily fit on the head of a pin and two plants in full bloom will fit inside a small printed letter "o."This edible aquatic plant commonly known as watermeal has no roots, blossoming from an indentation on the plant body. Like soybean, wolffia is about 40% protein.Wolffia is a genus of 9 to 11 species which include the smallest flowering plants on Earth. Commonly called watermeal or duckweed, these aquatic plants resemble specks of cornmeal floating on the water. Wolffia species are free-floating thalli, green or yellow-green, and without roots. The flower is produced in a depression on the top surface of the plant body. It has one stamen and one pistil. Individuals often float together in pairs or form floating mats with related plants, such as Lemna and Spirodela species. Most species have a very wide distribution across several continents. Wolffia species are composed of about 40% protein, about the same as the soybean, making them a potential high-protein human food source. They have historically been collected from the water and eaten as a vegetable in much of Asia.
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