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[Faith Kent]

4. Carrion Flowers



There are a number of flowers that look and smell like rotting meat in order to attract insect that will pollinate them. A lot of species will trap the insects after luring them in, letting them go only when they’ve collected enough pollen. However, carrion flowers don’t reward the insects that pollinate them with nectar like most other flowers.

[Faith Kent]

3. Talipot Palm



This tree is around six to eight metres tall and at the top branches out with loads of little flowers. It only flowers once in its life span, when it’s about 30 to 80 years old. It takes about a year for the flowers to become fruit and after fruiting it then dies. It smells sweet and the sap is used for palm wine.

[Faith Kent]

2. Rafflesia arnoldii



This is the largest flower in the world and it grows on the floor of rainforests. It doesn’t have the usual parts — such as leaves, roots or stem — as other flowers because it doesn’t need them. It gives off a stench of rotting flesh, which attracts carrion flies.
Before it flowers it is almost invisible, it then grows into a cabbage-like plant that opens into the huge flower that only lasts for a few days. There’s a lot that’s not known about how the plants reproduce as scientists are struggling to recreate the environment in which the plant lives. Because of this, they haven’t been able to fully study them.

[Faith Kent]

1. Titan Arum



This huge plant is often referred to as the corpse flower. It’s three metres tall when fully grown and emits a horrible stench that people flock to from around the world. It takes a long time to reach full size and when it gets there it will begin to heat up to somewhere around human body temperature. This helps to intensify its smell, which attracts pollinators.
It can take years for the flower to bloom so when it does people visit to see the magnificent, and smelly, plant in action.