PlantAKiss
Moderator Schmoderator Fluorescent fluorite, Engl
I saw a thread on this topic on the...er..uh...GardenWeb once a long time ago (NOT a CP topic) and Unknownclown's comment about her purple passion plant reminded me of it. The words people chose to describle the smells of plants and flowers they found offensive was hilarious. And it seemed there were LOTS of reeking plants people grow. And even some flowers most people find pleasant some found stinky (such as stargazer lilies). So I just thought for fun, I'd try it here and see if anyone had any stinky experiences. I have already learned about the stench of the durian fruit on the forums. (I'd still like to eat one).
I guess the one that comes to mind for me is a succulent plant I had once a long time ago. I had it at my office at work. It produced a large bloom which grew very fast. It got bigger and bigger. It is somewhat like a balloon flower where the bloom is like a puffed up pillow which kinda bursts open into a flower. Finally the great day came....the petals separated at their points, the "pillow" popped open to reveal a large, strikingly beautiful, star-shaped flower!!!...AND... a stench that would bring you gagging to your knees! Ohmigod... :shocked: ...it reeked like something had crawled up in it and died. What a trick of nature! Here was this incredibly beautiful flower and yet the smell was putrid.
I later discovered the plant is a succulent called a stapelia, also known as the CARRION plant! It all made sense then. Amazingly there are many varieties and the flowers are gorgeous. IF you can stand the smell, they are cool plants.
Anyone wishing to see the lovely but odorous flowers check out this link.
http://www.cactus-mall.freeserve.co.uk/stapelia/picturef.html
If anyone else has a plant or flower that has an "unusual" or interesting smell, feel free to share.
Suzanne
(Edited by PlantAKiss at 2:59 pm on April 15, 2002)
I guess the one that comes to mind for me is a succulent plant I had once a long time ago. I had it at my office at work. It produced a large bloom which grew very fast. It got bigger and bigger. It is somewhat like a balloon flower where the bloom is like a puffed up pillow which kinda bursts open into a flower. Finally the great day came....the petals separated at their points, the "pillow" popped open to reveal a large, strikingly beautiful, star-shaped flower!!!...AND... a stench that would bring you gagging to your knees! Ohmigod... :shocked: ...it reeked like something had crawled up in it and died. What a trick of nature! Here was this incredibly beautiful flower and yet the smell was putrid.
I later discovered the plant is a succulent called a stapelia, also known as the CARRION plant! It all made sense then. Amazingly there are many varieties and the flowers are gorgeous. IF you can stand the smell, they are cool plants.
Anyone wishing to see the lovely but odorous flowers check out this link.
http://www.cactus-mall.freeserve.co.uk/stapelia/picturef.html
If anyone else has a plant or flower that has an "unusual" or interesting smell, feel free to share.
Suzanne
(Edited by PlantAKiss at 2:59 pm on April 15, 2002)