Bizarre Plant: Dracunculus vulgaris

Dracunculus vulgaris photo by Peter A. Mansfeld

Dracunculus vulgaris can grow to be more than two feet tall. The spathe that surrounds the spadix blooms to reveal a deep purple flower-like growth. The spadix itself has a yellow, corncob like appearance at the base. The rest is purple and black. After flowering, it produces green berries that ripen in the fall. Dracunculus vulgaris is currently found in various places in the United States, but it is endemic to Europe, particularly the Balkans. 

Dracunculus vulgaris goes by many names, most of which are derived from its appearance. Its other names include Drakondia, snake lily, voodoo lily and dragon arum. The snake and dragon names stem from the black, snakelike appearance of the spadix, which is a long, stalk like projection that comes out of the plant's spathe. The dragon name also stems from finger like shapes on the leaves that have been compared to antlers and dragon claws. 

Dracunculus vulgaris is a plant very similar to one previously featured on That is Bizarre -- Amorphophallus titanum. These two plants have similar structures and identifying features, though Amorphophallus titanum is the larger of the two. The most memorable feature of both plants is an awful stench that they emit when attracting flying insects for pollination. The most common description of this smell is that of rotting dead meat. Nonetheless, Dracunculus vulgaris is a beautiful plant.

Bizarre Plants: Amorphophallus Titanum

Amorphophallus titanum
Credit: U.S. Government

Here at That is Bizarre, we have posted some interesting plants, from those with grenade like seed action to those that reek of carcasses. Amorphophallus titanum is another of those plants that smell awful, but that is not the only bizarre aspect of it. From its size to its name, it is quite the bizarre plant. In Sumatra, where it is endemic, it is known simply as "Bunga Bunkai." Nothing too bizarre there, but its Latin name mentioned above translates to "giant misshapen penis." It seems some people think this plant looks like a malformed sexual organ. It really does not, but we still love the name.

Amorphophallus titanum starts out as a root tuber that can weigh up to 200 pounds. From this tuber grows a plant that looks like a huge unshucked ear of corn. This part of the plant can grow up to several inches in a single day and some say can grow up to 10 feet, though it certainly can grow more than six. Once the plant is ready to bloom, it does so at night and it smells nasty. Some compare the stench to rotting meat. It also gets extraordinarily hot at this point and emits steam.

Once the spathe spreads (like a flower petal blooming), it can be up to four feet in diameter. The smell it omits is not to attract prey, but rather to pollinate. The male "flower" traps insects by closing its spathe around them. Next, it sticks pollen all over the hapless bugs. When it is done, it sets the bug free. Later, the bug will pollinate female Amorphophallus titanum. The male and female flowers of the plant open at different times, presumably to prevent same plant or male plant pollination. Once the female is fertilized, she produces red olive-sized fruits and dies within days.

The death of the female plant does not spell the end of Amorphophallus titanum. The root tuber grows a single leaf that eventually grows into an up to 20-foot tall plant that looks like a tree, but is not classified as such. At the top of the "tree," the resulting leaf blooms can be up to 16 feet around. It is not quite as eye catching as the green ear of corn that blooms into a burgundy and green flower, but it is life and it continues the cycle of the Amorphophallus titanum so it can produce stinky flowers again later.

Bizarre Plants: The Sandbox Tree

When it comes to bizarre plants, the sandbox tree tops the list. It is dangerous. It is creepy looking. Best of all, it has its own arsenal of exploding projectiles. Luckily, it only exists in tropical areas where only the most audacious, or misinformed, dare to tread. It is native to tropical regions in the Americas, though it is also found in Australia and Africa, because people there are just daring enough to introduce this plant into their countries.

Sandbox trees can grow to be more than 100 feet tall. Their bark is smooth, but the lengths of these trees are covered in sharp spikes that prevent animals from climbing up. Another defense they have against curious animals is a creamy juice that seeps out of the trees. Some natives make poison darts and hunt fish with this toxic juice. The sap is an ingredient in the hallucinogen Ayahuasca. Just touching these trees or chopping them down can cause severe skin and eye irritation.

The seeds and seed pods of the sandbox tree are the most dangerous aspects of it. The seed pods are shaped like pumpkins. When they fully mature, the pods explode, splitting along the pumpkin like grooves. The outside becomes shrapnel and the inner seeds shoot out into the forest. The explosive force is actually enough to cause injury to anyone unlucky enough to be standing nearby.

As if the seed grenades were not enough, the sandbox tree's seeds taste good and that is bad. Eating a portion of one of these seeds is enough to cause vomiting and they are laxatives as well. Imagine following ex-lax with ipecac. Eating two or more of these seeds can lead to far worse consequences. You can become delusional while you crap and vomit all over the place. You may even start convulsing and die. Talk about defenses, the sandbox tree is the Fort Knox of the botanical world.

Sources

A Tree With Exploding Seed Pods, retrieved 7/17/11, waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0901c.htm

Hura Crepitans: Sandbox Tree, retrieved 7/17/11, tropilab.com/hura-cre.html

Bizarre Plants: Rafflesia Arnoldii

Photo Courtesty of Henrik Hansson Globaljuggler

Rafflesia arnoldii is a parasitic plant that has the biggest flowers known to man. They can grow almost three feet across and are bright red in color. There are a few bizarre things worth discussing about these plants. The first are their huge flowers. The second is that rafflesia arnoldii smells disgusting, like rotten meat.

The flowers of rafflesia arnoldii are large, as mentioned above; they are also heavy. Some specimens weigh as much as 15 pounds. These large flowers only open occasionally. They stay open for roughly five days at a time. While successful pollination of these flowers is not common, flies are attracted to the flower for pollination, nonetheless. The rotting meat smell of the flower may be for this very purpose.

The rotting smell of these flowers might smell like food to flies. That brings them around to feed, but there is nothing in the flower to feed upon. There is only a disgusting smell coming from an otherwise beautiful flower.

Rafflesia arnoldii's live in tropical Asian rainforests. So, if you ever find yourself wandering through such a place -- highly likely, I know -- and smell rotting flesh, go toward it. Look at it this way, if it is something dead, the carnivores already have something to eat. If it is rafflesia arnoldii, you'll get a great picture. That is, if you like to bring a camera with you on your casual strolls through the rainforest.